For My Friend Warrick
by nicksfriend
Summary: Nick Angst! Warrick is speaking to Nick ...from the grave?
1. Chapter 1

Author: Nicksfriend

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic. Please be gentle.

**Anger-A strong feeling of displeasure or hostility.**

Nick was enjoying his conversation with Stephane. She was beautiful and her smile melted his heart. He walked away with a promise of a date and a taste of her home cooking.

He was about to order a cup of coffee to go when he heard a gunshot from outside and he opened the door to see if he could see what had caused the sound,he was followed by his fellow officers.

A second shot echoed through the alleyway and Nick pulled his weapon as did the other officers who were starting to fan out into the street and alleyways.

The sound of a horn blowing loudly captured Nick's attention and he tore down the dark alley across from the restaurant,then he spotted it, Warrick's car with Warrick lying face forward on his steering wheel.

His mouth was open,his eyes staring forward, fixed and dilated. Warrick was dead and Nick felt something rise inside him that had never been there before, a sense of anger that he had never experienced;not even with children and crimes against a child were the worst but this hit him in a place he had never felt pain before,in his heart.

He walked over and placed two fingers on Warrick's carotid, a calmness overtook him, it wasn't time to panic, it was time to call for assistance. Warrick was dead,he could not bring him back. His best friend was gone.

He pulled out his cell and dialed for assistance, he was quickly surrounded by his fellow officers, calls were being made to Grissom and Brass.

The activity around them continued, Warrick's eyes still stared forward,looking towards him as if to beg for help but he was too late. The mole had done his job. Was it Pritchard or someone else? Nick could feel his anger fester inside him, an anger that had never culminated inside him before, a hate for the man who had killed his friend.

Sirens and voices continued around him, officers placing up barriers and crime tape did not phase the anger building up inside of his mind.

Brass arrived and was asking questions, Nick just waved him off, wanting to be alone to allow the sight of his friend to be forever ingrained into his mind and into his soul. He had to remember this moment,memorize every facet of the crime scene,it would be useful later.

When Grissom arrived and made his way through the barriers he spotted his 'rock', the man whom he had always referred to as the rock of the team lying face forward in his car, blood streaming down his neck and into a puddle on the pavement. His own hand raised to his mouth, possibly a unconscious attempt to keep himself from screaming at what he was taking in, the sight of his friend lying in his own pool of clotting blood.

Disgust and anger entered his thoughts and then he saw Nick,standing off to the side,not moving, not making a sound. Grissom's analytical mind diagnosed him as being in a state of shock. He always knew their relationship, their friendship was close. They were the best of friends, or at least they had been the best of friends.

Brass gave him a brief and emotional update on what was going on at the crime scene but even Brass was finding it difficult to keep it together,their last words had been in a moment of anger. His real last words were ironic now,'Consider yourself a lucky man.' Lucky men don't die in alleyways, he thought to himself. He walked off leaving Grissom to deal with a broken Nick.

Grissom walked up to Nick, keeping his own emotions intact,knowing that his team had just suffered a tremendous loss."Nick." He voice was that of a father's, soft and low,almost comforting.

"We failed him Grissom." he paused and shook his head and turned towards Grissom," We failed him." Nick's only words and he turned and walked away. The anger continuing to build up in his wounded heart,a feeling for a need of revenge towards the man who had killed his friend starting to form.

Grissom shook his head,he needed to call Catherine and Greg and let them know what had happened to their friend. He slowly pulled out his cellphone and decided to call Greg first since he was planning the trip and his flight would be leaving soon.

His fingers hit the speed dial number and as he waited for Greg to answer he watched as Nick slowly made his way back to the diner, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He watched as Nick slowly slid himself into his Denali,he hesitated for a few seconds before he started the engine and then he drove away slowly.

"Greg." a tired voice answered.

"This is Grissom, I have some bad news." Grissom was trying to keep it to the facts but at that moment David and Dr Robbins drove up in the coroner's van and then it hit him, their lab would be doing Warrick's case. His body would lie in their morgue.

"Grissom, is something wrong?" a panicked voice asked on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, Warrick was shot and killed outside the diner." He became quiet for a moment taking in the scene before him,the same scene he had witnessed a thousand times before but this was different, he knew this man. He had talked to this man, worked with this man, hugged this man and now this man whom he had the utmost respect for was now dead and his office was processing him like any other victim.

"Grissom?" a now panicked and upset Gregg was trying to get Grissom to say more,what had happened and what the hell was going on that Grissom was having such difficulty talking.

"I'll meet you at the station." Grissom hung up and took in the scene that he was glad that Nick had missed,tears streaming down his face and down David's and Doc Robbins, a sense of respect already forming for their fallen friend,the kind you see at a funeral.

"Gil, I'll take him home." Dr Robbins words were soft spoken, the reverence of one who would be handling the body of their friend.

Grissom nodded and followed the body to the van, his head was covered,the blood still seeping out of the wounds making a stain on the body bag."I'll be there in a little bit."

Doc Robbins nodded as David and a fellow police officer reverently placed the body in the back of the death wagon.

Grissom turned and pulled out his cellphone again but this time he dialed Catherine's number,dreading telling her that her best friend was dead.

"Catherine. Gil this had better be good." The frustrated voice answered.

"Catherine, Warrick is dead." He didn't mean to be so blunt again, it was just the way it came out,as if he just needed to get it out and done with, to keep his own pain at bay.

"What are you talking about Gil? We just left him less than thirty minutes ago and you're saying that he's dead?" Her voice panicked and upset.

"He was gunned down outside the diner, Nick found him in his car in an alleyway." Grissom tried to give her all the facts but was having a difficult time getting out all the information.

"He's dead? Warrick's dead?" Catherine's voice was now full of pain and sadness and she just had to let it out, words would not be forthcoming, so she gently hung up the phone to start her grieving process. She could not help but to feel that she had let him down, abandoned him, allowing the shooter ample opportunity to kill her friend. Why hadn't they walked him out to his car? Where the hell was Nick?

Grissom watched as the dayshift arrived and started to process the scene, a gun in the passenger seat, the passenger window down, shattered glass on the driver's side, a bullet fragment found near the gated trash can,and two shots fired, one to the neck and one to the chest. All the details of his friend's crime scene.

Grissom walked back to his vehicle and pulled himself into the seat,shutting his door and pulling out his cellphone one more time,hitting the number of his best friend.

"Sara." a sleepy voice answered.

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Welcome to the dark wagon...a warning..this is not going to be a sweet Nick fic...this is going to be a real angst fic...so if you are a little faint of heart...get off now! The ride has just begun! I am basing this fic on the:The Kübler-Ross model which describes, in five discrete stages, the process by which people deal with grief and tragedy. The five stages of grief are: Denial, anger, bargaining,depression and acceptance.


	2. Chapter 2

Author: Nicksfriend

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic. Have at me...this story will be rough and is not for those who are young or affected by severe angst and Nick mental torture...Warning!

**Denial-(psychiatry) a defense mechanism that denies painful thoughts.**

Nick drove back to the crime lab,he had left some things undone and wanted to get it finished. He got out of his truck and slammed the door shut, it felt good just to be able to do that small task but he didn't know why, it just did.

Walking into the lab, fellow officers stared in disbelief, he swiped his badge with a little more force than needed and walked into the small cubicle across from Archie. People were huddled together talking, Nick found it irritating and walked over and closed the door to shut them out.

He shook his head and finished putting up the files from earlier that day. Why did people always find such pleasure in bad things happening to people. It was sick and it irritated him in so many ways. They were like vultures awaiting the kill. As far as he was concerned they could all go to hell.

People say that they care or we will miss you when you're gone but that is all bullshit. Not even one of the people who sat outside those doors even showed any concern for his friend when he was up for murder, they were ready to condemn him and see the key thrown away. That is what they were, vultures. Damned decrepit vultures, ready to pick the bones of Warrick Brown clean.

He placed his gun on the counter and stared at it with a new attitude. His gun which had always been used for protection, now would be used for revenge because he knew what he had to do,he knew what had to be done.

Warrick Brown's death would be avenged,an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It was written in the Bible and Warrick's grandmother would not be approve of taking this verse from the Bible so literally but it was something that would have to be done. He was willing to pay the price ,he would either kill the man or he would die trying.

Warrick's death would be avenged,and he was the one to do it, nobody would ever suspect Nick Stokes, straight as an arrow Stokes to deal the cards and play to win. "God help the man who killed you Warrick because I will kill him." Nick promised himself,saying the words out loud but nobody heard him, the empty cubicle was sound proof." No mercy, just as he showed Warrick, I will show him no mercy."

Nick picked up his gun and placed in his holster, the anger building up inside him,the pain pushing him towards finding the man who had created a new Nick Stokes,a man now filled with nothing but anger and the thought of revenge.

He opened the door and stepped out into the hallway where Grissom and Gregg had just entered, he pushed by them both as though they didn't exist.

"Nick!" Gregg shouted at his friend,feeling as Nick might need to talk to someone and wondering why he was being so distant at a time like this,a time when they should be pulling together to find Warrick's killer.

Nick waved him off,clearly not wanting to talk to anybody,clearly hurting more than he was willing to admit to his fellow workers.

Gregg started to follow but Grissom placed a strong firm hand to his shoulder. He had known Nick for a long time, he knew that he needed some time alone.

"I don't like Nick like this,it scares me." Gregg spoke out loud to his boss.

"Nick will be fine, he's just hurting right now. He went through a lot out there,finding Warrick dead had to be rough." Grissom spoke in a low tone not wanting to bring anymore attention to the situation than already was being brought.

"Warrick was his best friend,I just don't think it's good for Nick to be by himself." Gregg was concerned for his friend, he knew the relationship that the two men had was more like brothers, not just friends.

"We need to get to the morgue Gregg. Nick will be fine, he always gets through these things, he's Nick." Grissom felt that if Nick could handle going through being kidnapped,buried alive and almost eaten alive by a host of red ants that he would manage getting through this situation in the same manner,dealing with the problem head on and moving past the bad experience. At least he hoped that they could all do that, but he knew Nick had a history of managing the worst of situations.

Gregg continued to walk along with Grissom but inside he wished that he had went to find Nick, he felt his friend might need to talk. Warrick was dead and he couldn't do anything to bring him back,but he possibly could be a friend to Nick.

**The Morgue**

Doc Robbins and David worked in silence as they performed t he autopsy on Warrick,No words were spoken as they did the Y -incision. Taking out each organ and weighing it on the scales,the large wound in his chest the obvious cause of his death but the wound in his neck would have been just as fatal.

Gregg and Grissom walked in just as they were finishing up Doc Robbins looking up and shaking his head.

"When I die please have the decency to send me to Henderson for the autopsy." The Doctor announced to the men in the room,feeling that it was the most painful thing he had ever performed, the autopsy of a beloved friend.

"We thought you might enlighten us to what caused Warrick's death." Grissom announced as he walked over and looked down into the green eyes of his friend,they still were open and staring straight ahead.

Ecklie will have a fit if he knows you are interfering with his case but the file is on the counter,I didn't tell." The Doc and David walked into the other room after covering Warrick's body back up and placing him in the cooler. Gregg stood in the doorway still unable to enter the room,his emotions too close to the edge.

Grissom picked up the file and started reading the detailed autopsy,nothing overlooked. Warrick evidently died from a major hemorrhage from the aortic artery, the second bullet found lodged in the wall of the heart. The gunshot to the neck had damaged the internal and external carotid arteries and would have been the primary cause of death if the second shot had not been fired.

The chest wound seemed to have been the second shot based on the entrance of the bullet, Warrick's body had to have been slumped forward, the neck wound would have been causing a loss of consciousness and Warrick's body would have been probably been going forward.

Grissom continued to look over the report when he heard Gregg clearing his throat, the Undersheriff walked into the morgue and stood in confusion as to what the other two men were doing there.

"What the hell Gil, you know better than to be here. Do I need to put you and your whole team on leave of absence until after the funeral?" McKeen silently concerned that they would find something that might point to him.

He had been so careful, watching for the perfect moment to walk up to Warrick's car,knowing all his friends were gone except for Stokes who was attempting to get a date with the waitress inside,too busy to notice anything was occurring outside with his friend. It had gone perfectly. Now to keep Grissom and his minions at bay he would have to play hardball, it was the perfect opportunity to make sure that they would not see the evidence.

Grissom looked at McKeen with disbelief,why would this man even think to do this while they were grieving their friend's death? Why would he even consider such a dramatic move? "Jeff, we were just attempting to assist with anything we might be able to add to the case. We knew Warrick better than anyone,even his family." Grissom was attempting to get a reprieve from the wrath of the Undersheriff.

"That is the very reason I am officially putting you and the rest of your team on leave until after Warrick Brown's funeral. I don't want to see any of you around here until afterwards." Mckeen felt confisent that he would not have to deal with their meddling at least for a while, plenty of time to make things disappear.

"That's not fair Jeff." Grissom's voice raised, he was angry at the decision, it was unfair.

"It's for your own good Gil and for your team's. Go grieve your friend and allow the dayshift to investigate the death of Warrick Brown." McKeen reached over and took the file from Grissom's hands and watched as the men walked out of the room.

Gil relinquished the file and headed out the door, but something wasn't right, a gut feeling maybe, but it felt wrong and he wasn't going to let it go.

Gregg stayed silent as the two men had their words and followed Grissom out when they were finished,why did he feel that Grissom was not yet done with the Undersheriff?

**CSI Parking Lot**

Nick was about to get back into his Denali when a SUV drove up rather fast and parked beside his car. He shook his head, the vehicle recognizable, it was Catherine.

"Nick!" she shouted as she shut her door and walked over to Nick's door.

The sound of Catherine's voice cut through his murky haze of hatred and anger, her voice was filled with pain, a pain that he was all too familiar with from his haunted past."Catherine,I'm sorry about Warrick." the only words he could manage from his mouth.

"Where were you Nick,I wouldn't have left if I knew you weren't going to be with him. We were all counting on you Nick to be with him." She could not help being angry, the man she loved was dead and all she knew was that Nick had let them down. They should have been going out for beer, to celebrate, instead they would all be going to a funeral.

Nick could barely accept the words she was dishing out to him. She was blaming him for Warrick's death. It was his fault that Warrick died, he died because he had stayed behind and flirted with a girl. Isn't that why she almost died before, he had left with a girl and left her at the bar alone to be drugged and taken to bed, possibly raped, her integrity challenged."I'm sorry Catherine."

"Sorry doesn't get it Nicky,sorry doesn't bring Warrick back does it?" her voice was furious at the man she had trusted to stay with Warrick, the only man who would've put his life in danger to protect their friend. Nick should be dead, not Warrick.

"You're right Catherine, it doesn't." Nick acquiesced to the accusations being directed at him by his supervisor. She was right, it should have been him, not his friend.

Catherine reached over had slapped his face hard, leaving a bright read and angry mark on his face,"Yes, it should have been you Nicky." Her eyes were filled with tears and she walked away, leaving Nick to stand alone in the dark parking lot.

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I**t's not to late to get off the angst wagon ...I would understand.**


	3. Chapter 3

Author: Nicksfriend

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic. Have at me...this story will be rough and is not for those who are young or affected by severe angst and Nick mental torture...Warning!

**Bargaining-the negotiation of the terms of a transaction or agreement **

She regretted her actions as soon as she walked away,what had she done? She knew exactly what she had done, overreacted and taken her anger and frustration of losing her best friend on Nick.

She turned to make a mends when she saw Nick pull out of the parking lot,his tires squealing on the pavement. What had she done?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind her, she turned to see Grissom and Gregg walking towards her,a look of disdain on Grissom's face.

"You can't go in Catherine. The Undersheriff has banned us from entering the lab until after the funeral." Grissom explained to his assistant supervisor.

"Gil, what the hell? We have every right to be a part of the investigation as anybody in that damned lab. I don't understand," Catherine reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes, now she was angry at the son of a bitch who was going to ban them from the investigation into their friend's murder.

"I don't understand either, but I'm not going to talk about it here, too many ears." Grissom walked over to get into his car. "Meet me at my condo,Sara is going to fly in this morning. We can go over things that we know."

Gregg and Catherine gave each other a look of confusion, they had both thought that Sara had left for good without another word to their boss,they both knew they were evidently wrong.

"I need to call Nick and let him know. He'll want to be a part of this too." Grissom added as he opened his car door and entered,starting his engine and driving off.

"This is going to be one hell of a day." Gregg spoke out loud to no one in particular,seeing that Sara was going to bring a whole new emotion to the mix.

Catherine looked over to Gregg and shook her head,"I did something stupid earlier and I need to go and make it right. Tell Grissom I'll be there in a while."

Gregg nodded and shrugged his shoulders, things were a little crazy right now and all he wanted to do was to talk to Nick,he always seemed to know what to say in a difficult situation. Nick always kept his cool,probably because he had so much experience with dealing with difficult situations it in his past.

They both entered their cars and drove off, McKeen watching from his window, knowing that they weren't giving up that easy,he would have to act fast in getting rid of key evidence as it was brought into the lab. He needed to keep Grissom and his team away from the evidence, they had an uncanny way of figuring things out and he could not allow that to happen.

**Grissom's Condo**

Grissom unlocked his door, his cellphone to his ear,still unable to reach Nick. His concern edging up a little in his mind,knowing that Nick and Warrick had always been close. Nick was too level headed to do something stupid though. Wasn't he? Grissom questioned himself as to what to do next.

A knock on the door brought him out of his deep thoughts and he turned to open it, Gregg was standing in the hallway looking like a lost puppy."Come on in Gregg."

Gregg entered, he had never been in his boss's home before and it was just as he pictured it,full of bugs and pictures of bugs, everything was about bugs. He felt a little creeped out and uncomfortable,this place was not for the faint of heart.

"Make yourself at home Gregg." Grissom hung up the unanswered call and went down the stairs, looking into cabinets for any coffee that Sara might of left behind. He found none and settled on making some hot tea instead.

"Listen, Grissom, Catherine said that she had to do something first and she would be late." Gregg had almost forgotten to tell him Catherine's message. The lack of sleep over the past few days finally catching up to him and he was sure it had to be effecting the others to, he was the young one of the bunch.

"She probably needs to tell Lindsey what happened, I'm sure that won't be easy, they were close." Grissom motions stopped,he took a moment of his own to reflect on how this would effect his team and how it would effect him. Warrick had been the rock of the team,he would know what to do right now.

"Is it okay if I lay down on your couch until everybody gets here, I'm dead tired." Gregg asked, his body getting chills due to his exhaustion.

"Better yet, I have a guest room, go in there and sleep. I'll wake you up when everybody gets here." Grissom continued to make the tea and pull out some pastries.

"If you want some coffee I'll run out to get some before I lie down," His dislike for tea evident.

"I'll call Catherine, she'll pick some up." Grissom looked over to see that Hank was getting a little antsy wanting to take his morning walk. "Better yet, I'll pick some up while I'm walking Hank."

Gregg nodded and disappeared into the spare bedroom,he looked around to make sure no bugs were around and then lay down, almost falling asleep immediately.

**Nick's house**

Nick arrived home, leaving his cellphone in the car, he knew that he wouldn't be answering it anyways. He just wanted to be alone. As he opened the door to his empty house he was reminded that he had lived a very lonely life in Vegas and basically the only time he ever really went out without a girl was with Warrick.

Warrick had shown him the ropes,he would've been eaten alive many times if it hadn't been for his best friend. Now he was gone. The game he had borrowed from his friend still lay on the table. Warrick had teased him that he was going to beat his ass playing it,even called him a wimpy Texan. What he would give to hear him call him anything.

He reached down and felt the cold handle of his gun,what Catherine had said was true, it should have been him, not Warrick. He had escaped death too many times and his friend only had that one chance, it wasn't fair,he should have never left his friend alone, especially to flirt with a girl.

Now he owed his friend big time,his life even. Catherine was definitely right, it should have been him. He walked into his bedroom and took out a bag,he needed to be able to find the killer and that might mean he would have to miss work for a few days,it might mean he would never return home, he needed to make some arrangements.

The phone in the living room was ringing, the ringer to the bedroom phone cut off so he could sleep during the day. He ignored it, the sound irritating his thoughts more. He pulled out some jeans,underwear, socks and some shirts and stuffed them into the bag.

Walking into the bathroom he collected some things that he'd need for a few days. He accidentally caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, dark circles under his eyes, his unshaven face, his hair messed and the red,angry bruise on the side of his face a reminder that he had let his best friend down.

He walked back into the bedroom and packed the items into his bag then he grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote down some things in case he didn't return,he didn't expect to return, and maybe a part of him didn't want to return.

He grabbed the bag and walked back to his car and threw in in the back, he then got behind the wheel and pulled out of his driveway, he had to find Warrick's killer,but where to start?

Maybe the diner would be a good place, the crime scene should be cleared now,he needed to see the area himself. He started in the direction of the diner,a feeling of urgency overcoming his actions.

The lack of sleep was getting to him,his vision blurred for a few minutes but he was fine afterwards, a cup of strong coffee was needed if he was going to pursue Warrick's killer.

**The Diner**

The drive was short and he got out seeing that the crime tape was still in place but the car and people were gone save a police officer stationed to make sure that nothing was disturbed.

He recognized the officer and walked up,"Hey Marshall." Nick greeted as he started to take in the crime scene.

"Hey Nick, I'm sorry about Warrick, He was a great guy." The officer felt uncomfortable talking about the crime,knowing that Nick and Warrick were friends.

Nick nodded, not really wanting to talk about Warrick's death,"Did they find anything?" Wanting to see if the officer knew anything that he didn't already.

"I don't think they found anything but a bullet fragment honestly." Marshall replied as he pulled up the tape to allow Nick access.

Nick pulled out the gloves from his pocket and walked underneath the yellow tape,"I'm just going to take a look around."

Marshall nodded, not seeing any harm in a CSI looking for evidence.

Nick walked over to the blood pool that still marked the ground, the remnants of a shattered glass intermixed with Warrick's blood, he found himself starring at it too long and shook the dark thoughts from his head,the blood that should have been his, not his friend's blood.

He walked around to the side where the passenger window would have been and looked down on the ground,nothing in particular caught his attention. A piece of discarded chewed gum though might contain some DNA, he picked it up and placed into a small bag that he had retrieved from his pocket.

He continued to walk around the area,looking for that one clue to point to Warrick's killer, one clue that would point to the person or person who had directed the hit on his friend.

The officer was taking in his appearance and seemed concerned, walking over to Nick he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder,"Hey Nick I know Warrick was your friend, but you look like shit."

"I'm fine." he answered not wanting to get into a conversation involving his friend or how he had let his friend down, he just needed to find out why his friend had to die.

"Okay Nick but you don't look fine." The officer returned to watching the scene, worried about the man who seemed to take things so personal, they had seen it many times at crime scenes. The man with a heart is what Nick Stokes had become to all the officers, he really cared about the victims and about their families, the other CSI's were more analytical and dry.

Nick looked around on the ground but then a thought occurred to him,where was the killer hiding before Warrick got into his car. He turned and noticed the fenced in trash can and opened the gate, a perfect place to watch for someone. He took out his flashlight and looked around the area then he saw what looked like threads on a nail that was sticking out.

He did not touch them he went back to his truck and grabbed his camera and then went back and took pictures then removed the threads and placed them in another plastic bag. He would run them back to the lab and see if Wendy could run a DNA analysis but she wouldn't be back in until late that evening. He would have to wait until later.

He also took shots of the leftover crime scene, they might come in handy later so he methodically took pictures of the ground, the trash can, the fence, the ally and the location where the car had been.

He thanked the officer and got back into his truck, a wave of dizziness hitting him, the lack of sleep and food catching up with him. How long had it been since he slept? Days maybe, since Warrick was arrested for murder, the team could not sleep, they had to get their friend out of jail, only for him to be gunned down.

He decided to get a motel room until Wendy's shift, he didn't want anybody else running the tests, he didn't trust Hodges, and he didn't know who the mole was but the one thing he was for sure of, it wasn't Wendy, she had been there when Sara had left without even a good-bye, she was a true friend.

He decided to grab a cup of coffee and maybe a bacon biscuit before he went to find a motel room, as he walked into the diner he was reminded of the thought that if he had not stayed behind that Warrick wouldn't be dead, that his friend would possibly still be alive. The thought made him nauseous and he walked back outside,he got in his truck and started driving, the first motel he came to he stopped,it wasn't the cleanest but it would do,sleep would be hard to come by.

**The Motel**

He checked in and found his room, it was dark and the smell of cigarettes filled his nostrils,it had been years since he smoked but he suddenly wanted to take up his old habit. He walked back to the small check-in and purchased a pack of Marlboro lights,and when he walked back into the room he grabbed a pack of matches, opened the cellophane wrapper around the box and took out the slender stick and lit it up,it felt right, it matched the mood he was feeling.

Hell he didn't have to worry about cancer,he knew that he wouldn't be alive long enough to worry. He had a task and that was to find the sorry son of a bitch that had killed his friend and after that he had no plans.

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Feedback please...I really need to see if you guys like it or not...okay I will beg!

**Note from the author:** I haven't written real dark angst before...I don't use certain words but I do want to paint a picture of a tormented Nick,someone who is in dire need of assistance,he is neither suicidal or homicidal...he is hurting and he really needs his friends but he has isolated himself and that is not a good thing for our Nick...his path will only get darker.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic. Have at me...this story will be rough and is not for those who are young or affected by severe angst and Nick mental torture...Warning!

**Grissom's Condo**

Grissom entered his condo to find that nobody had yet arrived. He took Hank's collar off and placed the coffee on the counter. He could hear the soft snores emanating form the guest bedroom indicating that Gregg at least was getting some sleep.

He then thought that maybe Gregg had slept through their arrival and that maybe they had come but left, seeing that he was not at home.

He pulled out his cell and dialed Catherine's number, the phone rang and went to voice mail,"Catherine, call me." He left the message wondering why she didn't pick up, knowing that there was no way she was asleep.

He dialed Nick's number, also a voice mail again."Nick, I need to talk to you. Call me."

Grissom was getting a bad feeling about his fellow CSI's, each of them were strong but everybody has a breaking point and maybe the death of their friend was it for both of them.

He shook the dark thought from his head and went about making the coffee, knowing that he had work to do and it was going to be a very long day.

**Nick's House**

Catherine drove up to Nick's house after multiple calls, her concern for her friend's state of mind worrisome. She had taken all of her anger out on him and she knew that Nick was sensitive and Warrick had always been his best friend. She need to apologize,she felt horrible for what she had done.

She had stopped at t he crime scene and had sat there grieving in the parking lot for her friend,watching as Ecklie's team gathered evidence, directed by the Undersheriff.

She had just needed to make sure it was done right, that they didn't miss anything. They seemed to have been thorough but it was actually difficult to see from the parking lot, the area blocked off from the public. She knew better than to interfere,even though she wanted to a part of the gathering of the evidence.

She exited her vehicle and walked up to the front door, Nick's car not in the driveway but it could've been in the garage. She knocked but no answer, she was about to walk away when she thought about looking under the door rug for a key,she really didn't think Nick was that predictable but she gave it a try and came up empty.

As she straightened back up she spotted it, the small mail container had a magnetic key holder underneath it. She quickly retrieved the key and opened the door and walked inside,"Nick!"She called out but was met with nothing but silence.

She walked to the bedroom but it was also empty. She was about to leave when she saw a note attached to the refrigerator. Her curiosity got the best of her as she pulled off the magnet and retrieved the note that was addressed to Grissom.

She stuffed the envelope in her pocket and walked back out the front door and locked it back then placed the key back where she had found it earlier.

She shook her head,concerned for her friend. She wondered what kind of emotional damage she had laid on Nick, she was angry and it was uncalled for, she just wanted to tell him she was sorry.

She got back into her vehicle and again dialed Nick's number but again it went to voice mail but she decided to tell him she was sorry on the voice mail,"Nick this is Catherine, I was out of line earlier,I should have never said what I said, I am so sorry. Please, I never meant to hurt you like that. Call me." she tossed the phone to the passenger seat,taking that moment to cry, tears flowed as she felt the pain of losing her friend again.

She sat in front of Nick's house for a while before she could start her engine to leave, so much guilt was overcoming her, and she hadn't taken the chance to tell Lindsey or her mother the tragic news. They wouldn't take it well, she knew that for a fact. Warrick had been a surrogate father for Lindsey all these years. This wouldn't be an easy thing to do, it would probably be the hardest thing she had ever done.

She pulled out and headed for her house, she needed to see her family, she needed to be with her family.

**The Motel**

Nick sat quietly in the room,sleep was evading him. He pulled out another cigarette and lit it, looking down at the two bags that he had gathered from the crime scene, wondering if they had the clue that would lead him to the killer.

He could not grieve his friend's death until he found the killer, he could not consider allowing that simple emotion until he had taken care of the killer of his friend.

Catherine's words echoed in his brain,"Where were you Nick?" The answer was pathetic, he was flirting with a girl,so stupid, why had he been so stupid, He should have stayed with Warrick, heck all the evidence proved that Warrick had been set up and the person who set him up was still not in custody. What the hell were they thinking?

He glanced down at his watch, Wendy came in at around four so he wanted to get to her before she got started with another case or with other evidence from Warrick's case but he guessed that Hodges, being the senior lab tech would be handling the evidence from Warrick's case.

He stood, a wave of dizziness hitting him again, the lack of sleep and food starting to have a huge effect on his body and his ability to function but he knew that he had to continue for a little bit longer. He grabbed the two evidence bags and his camera and walked to his car, the blasting heat producing a heavy sweat within seconds of him going outside.

He got back into his truck and started the engine, quickly turning on the air full blast. He pulled out of the parking space and drove without a sound except for the hum of the engine, deep in thought about what he had witnessed just hours before, he arrived at the crime lab,wondering how he actually got there.

**The Crime Lab**

Nick grabbed the evidence, noticing that Wendy's car was already in the garage. He walked up to badge in when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey Nick, I'm sorry man but you can't come in, the Undersheriff told me not to let any of your team in until after Warrick's funeral. Sorry Nick."

Nick looked at the man with a new anger but he knew that he had to keep his cool, "We'll see about that." He pulled out his cell and found his father's number and pushed the enter button.

"Judge Stokes." Nick's father answered.

"Dad, I need a favor." Nick knew that his father had pull and he was going to get in one way or another.

"I'm rather busy son, what is it that you need?" Knowing that his youngest son would not be calling unless it was urgent, Nick had always been independent and never asked for favors.

"Warrick was killed last night, I don't have time to explain right now but they won't let me back in the crime lab until after the funeral, I guess they don't want us to interfere but I need to get in and run a few tests on my own, He was my best friend."

Judge Stokes understood, Warrick had come to visit with Nick several times, the family had had a good laugh the first time they had witnessed Warrick Brown riding a horse. He had seen the friendship and knew Warrick was Nick's best friend."Give me ten minutes and you should be fine to enter."

"Thanks dad, I owe you." Nick responded, glad to be able to have the political pull for the first time ever in his life. He quickly hung up the phone and waited, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Nick, I don't know what kind of political clout you have but the sheriff himself called and told me to allow you to enter." The man at the desk waved him through.

Nick did not respond, instead he had to find Wendy and he went straight to her area and handed her the bags.

She took in his worn and exhausted appearance, the Texan had always looked groomed and always took pride in his appearance,this was different. They were all grieving Warrick's death but she saw that his friend was taking it very hard.

"Nick, are you okay?" she asked,concerned that Nick was headed for a breakdown.

He nodded and handed her the two bags,"I need you to run these now,they may be nothing but I just need to know if they have anything to do with the case."

"Nick, I could get into trouble running evidence that has not been properly logged." she felt nervous about he request and that if Ecklie or the Undersheriff found out that she could be fired.

"I understand." He reached to take it back when she shook her head.

"I'll run it but stay close so I can give you the results. I don't want to be hunting for you, it might make people suspicious." She gave him a small smile and started taking out the evidence to run.

"I'll be processing this film, I'll be back in my cubicle." He gave her a small nod of his head and walked away, he needed to process the film and gather some information to study back at the motel.

He entered the cubicle and took out the film, he would need the dark room to process the film himself but decided against it, too many eyes, he would take it to a one hour photo shop later.

He sat down at the computer and started searching for information on Pritchard, he needed to get as much information as he could gather on the officer. Address, his parent's name and number, he needed to see where hte possible killer night hide.

His eyes were getting blurry as he sat in front of the computer gathering information, creating his own file of papers of people who had anything to do with Daniel Pritchard, his head starting to pound. He rubbed at tired eyes and he glanced down at his watch and saw that it was after five, surely Wendy was done.

He got up and started down the hallway but stoopped dwhen he saw Wendy walking towards him, "Nick, I need to talk to you for a second." She motioned him to return to his cubicle, shutting the door behind them.

"I ran the test and I don't know what to make of the results." Wendy was whispering as if what she might say could jeopardize their lives or at least their jobs.

"What?" Nick asked anxiously, staring at hte papers in her hand and hte tight grips she had on them.

"The DNA on the gum came back to Jeffrey McKeen. The fibers were from a certain custom made suit line,Chapman suits, exclusively found here in Vegas,the only person I've ever seen wear Chapman suits to work is McKeen." Wendy handed him the results.

Her voice sounded excited and worried at the same time to Nick's ears. Was the mole actually the one who had banned the team from the lab? Nick was taking in the new information, attempting to process everything in his tired,exhausted brain. He needed all of the evidence, including the medical examiner's report. "Listen, do not share this with anyone yet, including Grissom. I need to check out some other evidence, do you think you can get copies of the reports without getting caught?"

Wendy wasn't really for sure, Hodges was very protective of his evidence and results, he might not allow her to see what he had found. "Listen, I'll find a way. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the morgue, I need to see the examiner's report." He hesitated a few seconds and spoke again but his voice was low and filled with emotion."I need to see my friend."

Wendy's eyes filled with tears, the pain evident on Nick's face and his voice, her own pain renewed. She nodded as she watched her friend leave the lab.

The emotion was palpable in the lab as Nick walked down the hallway, giving to whispers and stares from those who worked with him so close, they knew his pain but did not speak about it, they just remained quiet and watched the tired, broken man make his way towards the morgue.

**McKeen's Office**

McKeen had been informed by his secretary that Nick's father had talked to the sheriff and had he had lifted the ban for Stokes to be able to enter the lab. He was worried, he knew that if he interfered it would only bring him unwanted attention, he needed to find a way to get rid of Stokes without looking suspicious.

He pulled out his cell and dialed Pritchard's number, he would need to flush his accomplish out into the open to get the attention directed towards a suspect, hopefully a dead suspect.

He dialed the programmed number and spoke as the man answered,"We need to meet."

"Where?" the voice answered.

"Meet me at ten tonight at the dump site,bring a weapon, we might have problems with a certain CSI." He instructed ,knowing that an armed man wouldn't stand a chance against a police force that had just lost a cop.

"I'll be there." The voice replied.

He hung up the phone and went to find Nick.

**The Morgue**

One of his biggest fears when he was buried alive years ago was being placed in the morgue for the Doc and David to process like meat in a butcher shop,the thought terrified him and now here he was to see his best friend who had been cut up and processed.

He entered the cool room and walked over to find the cube that held his friend, reading each label carefully so as not to open another victim's place of temporary rest.

He finally came to Warrick's and he opened the door and pulled the metal container out, his friend's body covered with a thin sheet.

His shaky fingers slowly reached up and gathered the sheet tightly between them and pulled it back, Warrick's green eyes still open, staring up at his face, a feeling of pain and loss overwhelmed him but it was not yet time to cry, not yet time to grieve his friend. He still had work to accomplish.

"Hey man, I know I let you down but I'm trying to make up for it I promise. I think I'm onto something, you need to talk to man, I'm so lost without you. You always kept me straight, you have always led me in the right direction when I was veering off. I really need you Warrick." He stopped to gather his emotions, he knew that he couldn't let his friend see him cry.

"Listen,I know I'm a little late here but I will find your killer and I 'll make him pay for what he did to you, what he did to our team, and what he did to our friendship. I promise Warrick, I am willing to die for you just as you died for what you believed in and what you stood for in life. I promise I will find your killer and I will make him pay. I promise."

He stared down at his friend, his hand reaching up and gently touching his eyes and closing them, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two coins, he then gently laid them on top of his eyelids to make sure they stayed closed,"It's time to sleep my friend, I'll take care of things here."

He covered Warrick's still body back up with the sheet and spoke one last time,"I'll see you soon buddy. I'll see you real soon." He then slid the body back into the cold storage area,reminded that he had a job to do for his friend. He needed to find Pritchard and he would have hte answers to all his questions

He turned to find the Undersheriff standing in the doorway.

**Okay,are you reading it? IT is hard to tell when you aren't talking to me! Please!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic. Have at me...this story will be rough and is not for those who are young or affected by severe angst and Nick mental torture...Warning!

**The Morgue**

**He turned to find the Undersheriff standing in the doorway.**

" Stokes, what the hell are you doing here?" Mckeen was angry that Nick Stokes was interfering in the case.

"Saying good-bye to my friend." He didn't even look at the man, if his suspicions were correct then the mole could be standing in front of him, but he needed more proof.

"This area is off limits. Do you hear me Stokes, officially off limits!" McKeen yelled at the man who had walked away and was now walking down the hall.

Nick didn't respond, he needed to get his film developed and he needed to get a copy of the evidence that had been gathered. The coroner's report would've been helpful but he would talk to David later when he arrived for his shift.

McKeen looked down at his watch, he needed to get to his meeting with Pritchard, but first he needed to stop by his house and have dinner with his wife and children. Everything had to appear normal.

**The Crime Lab**

As he walked back into the lab he saw Wendy,who appeared to be flirting with Hodges. She was gathering the evidence for him, using a method he knew would cost him later, she would make sure of it.

He walked back into his cubicle and waited for her to arrive, she was good at getting what she needed.

He stared own at the collection of data that he had gathered and wondered if he would be able to derive who had killed his friend from a few pieces of evidence, when a whole team of criminologists still had not come up with a clue. But maybe they didn't have what he had, the fibers and the DNA off the gum.

McKeen was at the crime scene, maybe he had left it there by mistake. Could he have been that careless or was he not as smart as he thought he was?

He typed McKeen's name into the computer and pulled up his information and printed it off, maybe if he could put him at the crime scene before the gunshots he would know for sure if he was the killer, not Pritchard.

He placed the printed off sheet into the file that he had started on Pritchard and stood to see if Wendy was making any headway with Hodges.

Suddenly she stuck her head in through the door with a handful of papers, "You owe me so big time Nick!", she mouthed as he handed him the papers and disappeared.

Nick shook his head and gathered everything up. He still needed the medical examiner's report but he would get that later.

**The Garage **

As Nick made his way out to the back exit he had a very strange feeling that he was being followed,he turned around to see a man lurking in the shadows of the garage.

"We need to talk," The man shouted to the CSI, he had a gun and was pointing it at Nick,"I don't want to hurt you man but I need to talk to you."

Nick's hand with the papers went up as did his other hand,"Hey, I will listen to you but you need to put that gun away so I can hear you."

"I know something, I can't trust anybody right now but I know that Pritchard didn't kill your friend. The real killer will be at Canyon Bluff tonight, he needs to talk to you." The man gave the information nervously,"Be there at ten o'clock because if you're late he'll leave."

"Who are you?" Nick questioned but the man did not stick around for questions, he watched as the man ran away.

Nick started to run after him, but his energy was drained, there was no way he would be able to catch up with the frightened man.

He would be at the location at ten,armed and ready to take down the son of a bitch who had killed his best friend.

**Grissom's Condo**

"Where is everybody?" Gregg asked as he made his way from the bedroom door over to the coffee pot, "I thought they would all be here by now, it's almost six."

Grissom gave him a look, "I am asking the same question myself. I have tried all day to get in touch with Catherine and Nick but no answer on their home phones or their cells. I'm a little worried."

Sara took that moment to walk out of Grissom's bedroom,"I tried Nick's number again but no answer."

"Maybe he went home to sleep, he was exhausted, I don't think he's slept since Warrick was arrested." Gregg added as he made his way over to Sara and gave her a warm hug.

The door bell rung and Grissom walked over and opened the door to find a very tired looking Catherine, her eyes red and swollen, evidence that she had been crying recently.

"You okay?" Grissom asked as he pulled her into his arms and gave her a comforting hug,"I was worried about you."

"Mom and Lindsey didn't take it very well, we have been comforting each other for the past few hours, it was hard to leave them but I knew we needed to go over a few things." She walked over and gave Sara a warm welcome home, pulling her into her arms, both women became teary eyed again.

"Listen, have you heard from Nick?" Grissom asked as he poured Catherine a cup of coffee.

"I stopped by his house earlier this morning, he wasn't there, I thought he might be with you." She took the offered cup of coffee and took a seat in Grissom's living room.

"I'm a little concerned for him right now." Grissom was about to sit down when his phone rang, he quickly walked over thinking it might be Nick and answered it,"Grissom."

The voice on the other end must have been a little upsetting for him to hear, his face became worried and as he listened to the caller he shook his head and started to pace,"I'll find him and talk to him. Thanks." He ended the call and walked back over to his captive audience.

"That was Brass, Nick was at the crime lab, he went to see Warrick's body in the morgue too. He was worried about his state of mind when he left, several officers told Brass that they had seen Nick leave the garage driving rather erratically." Grissom explained the phone call,wondering how Nick had managed to get back into the building then suddenly remembering that Nick's father had the ability to make political mountains move.

"How?" Catherine asked as she stood and walked over to where Grissom was standing.

"His father, I'm guessing." Grissom responded.

"Boy, I wish I had that kind of clout." Gregg responded, amazed as to what his friend had accomplished.

Suddenly Catherine remembered the note that she had retrieved from the refrigerator and reached into her pocket and pulled it out."I found this on Nick's refrigerator when I went inside to check on him." She handed the note to Grissom, wondering what he had written to his boss.

Grissom took the proferred note and opened it, his blurry eyes unable to focus due to his lack of sleep. He attempted to concentrate on Nick's messy handwriting,"I never could read his writing, that's why he has to type everything."

Sara reached over and took the letter, she was an expert and reading Nickscribble. She looked at the letter and shook her head, "Grissom, Nick's in trouble." she could not help but to feel a panic as she read the words on the piece of paper, "It's directions for what he wants done with his property, where his will is located and where he wants to be buried."

Grissom turned towards Gregg, "We need to find him now! Gregg, you'll need to drive." He grabbed his keys and started out the door,"Sara, you and Catherine check out the diner,Gregg and I will check out Pritchard's last address, I'll call Brass back and get a APB on Nick's SUV."

"It's my fault." Catherine interrupted Grissom's movements, she knew what Nick was doing and why he was doing it."I told him it was his fault, I hit him in the parking lot this morning. I was angry that Warrick had been killed and I took it out on Nick. It's my fault."

Grissom finally understood why Nick was taking this even more personal than he would've anyway, he was dealing with the guilt of not being with him when the killer found Warrick, that he was not there to help his friend."Catherine, it's not your fault. Nick was Warrick's best friend, he needs us. All of us."

She nodded, the other two just glared at Catherine as if she had just told them she was the murderer,their pained look was all that she needed to see, they were going to blame her if something went wrong, if Nick didn't come out of this alive

"Let's go Catherine." Sara directed as she grabbed her jacket and keys, her rental car parked outside.

Gregg and Grissom walked towards their car when Grissom's phone rang, he looked down to see that Brass was calling him back,"Grissom."

"Gil. I need you to come to the station, I think we might have a lead in the case." Brass seemed excited but unable to give all the information over the phone.

"I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and looked at Gregg, "Change of plans, we need to go to the police station."

"They find Nick." Gregg asked excitedly.

"No but they may of found Pritchard." Grissom responded and got into the passenger seat, handing Gregg his keys.

**The Police Station**

Brass sat across the table from Pritchard, he had turned himself in to Brass,afraid for his life.

"So, tell me again, where were you this morning." Brass feeling a little irritated that the man was denying any involvement in Warrick's murder,that he had not killed the CSI.

"I'll tell you again, I did not kill Warrick Brown. I did set him up as the murderer of Lou Gedda but the last time I saw him he was very much alive." Pritchard was nervous, the mole, his boss was someone in the station but he knew for a fact it was not Jim Brass, a man who had experienced his share of troubles in the past but he was certain of one thing and that was that Jim Brass was an honest man.

"Okay, you told me that you had nothing to do with his murder but you can't tell me where you were this morning?" Brass leaned forward and stared at eh man who was now accused of killing his friend.

"I do not have an alibi, all I have is the truth and you don't seem to want to hear it." Pritchard's voice was raised, his frustration that Brass wasn't listening to him.

"You come in here and basically beg me not to tell anybody you're here except Gil Grissom, then you want me to believe that you didn't shoot Warrick Brown down in cold blood." Brass stood and walked over to the man and got right into his face,"You might just say that I'm having a difficult time believing a damned murderer."

"If you don't listen to me the real murderer will get away. The man who gunned down your friend is meeting me tonight at Canyon Bluff, I think he was going to have me killed." Pritchard's voice was nervous, he had done everything the man had told him to do to keep his family safe. He was used but he would not die for the son of a bitch who didn't seem to mind killing his own.

Brass walked over to the corner of the dark room as if in deep thought,"Okay, say we send a few officers there to meet this man, what does he look like?"

"I've never met him, he always calls me on this phone,an untraceable link. I have never seen him but he knows everything that happens in these walls. That's why nobody can know I'm here, he would have me dead within the hour, I know, he has been threatening my family for a long time. He has connections." Pritchard's hands shook as he lifted the glass of water to his mouth, his nervous movements noticed by Brass who was observing his demeanor.

"Okay, I'll send a team to meet this man but how do we know that he didn't see you enter the police station?" Brass asked the nervous man.

"I know how to avoid the cameras, I swear nobody saw me." Pritchard looked up at Brass who was now by his side again.

The conversation was interrupted by Grissom, as he and Gregg walked into the room,"Pritchard?" Grissom's eyes fixed on the man who he assumed had killed his CSI,"How did you find him?" Grissom asked Brass,who was watching the reaction of his friends.

"He found us." Brass pointed towards the closed door and closed window,"He is saying the real killer is an officer here at the police station, or so he thinks,anyways he was suppose to meet this person tonight at ten."

Grissom looked at his watch, it was almost nine,"Well, let's go and see if anybody shows up. Where is the meeting place?"

"Canyon Bluff, a dump basically, we find a lot of dead bodies there,most likely where Gedda liked to dump his barbecued bodies but we could never prove it."

"We had better get going." Grissom responded and looked at he man sitting down,"If you are lying we'll be back and Brass doesn't like it when people lie to him."

"Yeah, he sort of gets mad." Gregg added.

Brass handcuffed the man to the bolted down table,"We'll be back in a little while, make yourself at home."

Grissom, Brass and Gregg walked out into the hallway, a policeman was stationed by the door with orders not to disturb the interview going on inside, the officer nodded to not open the door.

As they made it out to their vehicles, Grissom turned to Brass,"We need to find Nick."

"What, is something wrong?" Brass was taking in the worried looks on their faces,"I'll put out an APB,he is driving his vehicle?

Grissom and Gregg looked at teach other,"We assume he is but we're not for sure." Grissom answered.

Brass pulled out his radio and placed an APB on Nick's vehicle,evidently he should be worried because Grissom had a very concerned look on his face.

Grissom picked up his phone and called Sara's number,"Listen, we're on our way to Canyon Bluff, we have reason to believe we might be on to Warrick's killer."

"We'll meet you there,Nick is not at the diner." She responded.

"He might have went home." Grissom suggested, feeling that Nick's life was more of a priority right now.

"We'll keep looking." Sara hung up her phone and looked at Catherine.

"They have a lead but Grissom feels we should keep looking for Nick." she explained the plan,feeling that Nick would've never been placed in this position if it hadn't been for Catherine.

She pulled the car out of the parking lot and drove away, Nick had been parked in the back, he needed to get to Canyon Bluff but he first wanted to ask the staff at the diner if they recognized McKeen's picture.

He gathered up the pictures he had stopped to have developed, the stills of the threads, the brown threads found on the nail, the gum that he had found on the ground, the pools of dried,clotted blood that still remained on the ground, and the files that showed that Warrick had been killed with Pritchard's weapon. The bullet had pierced his friend's neck and his heart. The passenger window was down,smudges on the window, but no prints,the person who had killed his friend was familiar with forensics.

He took Mckeen's and Pritchard's pictures and walked into the diner,the diner void of any cops, the place a reminder of their fallen friend. He walked around to each of the waitresses and each time nobody recognized either man, then he saw her, th e red headed waitress,the reason he had allowed his friend to die, overwhelming guilt hit him but he knew that he had to ask her as well, if she had seen in that night.

He walked over and she gave him a big smile,unaware that his friend had died."Hey, You're back."

"Listen, I need to ask you a question." Nick was nervous,his body ready to shut down,lack of sleep and food starting to really effect him.

Stephane saw her new friend start to sway and assisted him to a chair,"Are you okay?" she asked as she took in his tired appearance.

He shrugged off her concerns and her kind menstrations,"I'm fine, I just need to know if you saw this man last night?" Stephane took the paper and looked at it for a few seconds,"Yeah, he came in right before you guys arrived last night. He didn't say anything though he just turned and left." She handed McKeen's picture back to him,"I don't remember seeing this man though." handing Nick the picture of Pritchard back to him.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." He attempted to stand but another wave of dizziness hit him hard and he sat back down.

Stephane stood and went to get him some juice,"Here, drink this." she commanded the exhausted man in front of her, seeing that something terrible was effecting him and his state of mind.

He took the juice and drank it quickly, a surge of energy giving him the ability to stand again,"Thank you." he started for the door, "And thank you for this." He held up the pictures and exited the diner.

She was worried, the man was so different than last night, she felt as if s he should call someone, he was in trouble,he was in a dark place.

Nick got back into his car and drove towards Canyon Bluff, he knew that he had a job to do,McKeen would be waiting for him.

**I hope I'm doing okay.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic. Have at me...this story will be rough and is not for those who are young or affected by severe angst and Nick mental torture...at least I will try.

**I guess you guys are reading...I hope at least and thanks to all who have responded...you are the best!**

**Nick's Car**

Nick got back into his car and drove towards Canyon Bluff, he knew that he had a job to do,McKeen would be waiting for him.

Nick had been here before, investigating murders that had all gone unsolved, now he knew that Warrick was right about Gedda's barbecue pit and his method of getting rid of their bodies.

The dark, moonless sky gave no assistance to Nick as he attempted to guide his Denali to the area without lights assisting his path. He didn't want to give away his location.

He parked the car in an area that would give him some camouflage,keeping him hidden until it was time, he glanced down at the fluorescent lights on his watch and saw that it was ten til ten.

He closed his eyes, he was dead tired, suddenly he heard a voice beside him.

"What are you doing Nicky?" The voice asked.

Nick was startled from his momentary rest looking over to see his friend Warrick."How the hell are you doing this?" He yelled at the illusion, He had heard of psychosis from lack of sleep and now he was seeing his dead friend Warrick Brown.

"Does it really matter man? I do know that you are about to get your ass in trouble, going all cowboy and trying to capture my killer all by yourself. Whatcha thinking man?" The man next to him asked.

Nick rubbed at his tired eyes wishing for the auditory hallucination to go away but when he opened them again it was still there in vivid detail,Warrick was staring at him as if he were the dead man.

"I'm always saving your ass Nicky,you knew I'd have to be here or you would go out there and attempt to kill the son of a bitch that killed me." He was looking at Nick with a look of concern.

"Well, honey it's my time to take care of you, I failed you man. I failed you and I'm going to make it right." Nick took his gun out of the holster and held it up to the car light and took off the safety.

"You can barely focus your eyes, and you're going out there to arrest Jeffrey McKeen, who by the way, has a huge advantage over you, he's slept in the past four days." Warrick turned facing his friend,"Why do you want to do this Nicky? It's suicide."

"I promised you I'd get your killer and that is what I'm going to do buddy, I am going to kill the bastard who killed my best friend." He was getting angry, Warrick's voice was starting to irritate him, it was making him think and he didn't want too think he just wanted to act on what he had planned, to avenge his partner's death.

"You go out there and you do something stupid I just want you to know that you're not doing it for me, you're just being selfish and doing for you." the voice speaking to him now was angry,no longer the joking voice he remembered.

"You're wrong Warrick, I'm doing it for you and for what our friendship meant to me,I should have been the one who died last night, not you,I should have walked you out to your car, I should have been there when the killer came to your damned window and shot you dead Warrick, I should have been the one to die!" Nick screamed at the hallucination sitting in the passenger seat.

"It was my choice not to go out for beers and it was my advice that caused you to stay and get the red head's number,it was me Nicky who made the decisions that night and it was me who died,not you Nicky. You were meant to live,you were meant to live, don't you get it man. That is life, one lives and another one dies and it is guys like you who save guys like me. You will save me by capturing the killer but with a little back up man. Don't be stupid,this is not a game Nicky, it is better that he's captured alive,he'll pay dearly in prison, I promise." Warrick pleaded with his friend.

Nick nodded, he understood,though he still felt that he could've done more to help his friend that night he would listen to the voice of reason,"Okay." He slowly pulled out his cell and switched the power back on, he had twenty-three messages, his friends were concerned. He found Grissom's number and hit the speed dial.

Grissom was sitting in the front passenger seat of Brass's car ,lost in his own deep thoughts when his cell rang, looking down it was the man who he had been so worried about, Nick. He quickly answered,"Nick, where are you?"

Nick rolled his eyes and looked over at Warrick, and mouthed,"He missed me." He smiled at Warrick who could not help but to laugh. "I'm at Canyon Bluff, I have a pretty good lead going here, I think Warrick's killer will be here tonight."

"Nick get the hell out of there, we're on our way there right now." Grissom ordered his CSI."Pritchard gave himself up, he told us t hat the mole will be there tonight."

"It's too late, I think our killer just showed up." Nick whispered, watching the shadowy figure ahead of him move around in the bushes.

"Nick, you're not to do anything stupid. You need to wait on us." Grissom was concerned, he knew Nick's frame of mind and he felt that his friend might do something dangerous.

"Grissom, I recovered some evidence from the crime scene, I had the DNA run on it and it was McKeen's, I think he might have been Warrick's killer." Nick reached up and cut off the inside lights to his car and removed the keys, not wanting to get the attention of the man hiding in the bushes when he opened his car door.

Grissom watched as Brass called for major back up, helicopters and and all men available, this was not going to be good. "Listen Nicky, I want you out of there, now!" He ordered Nick.

"I need to do this Gris, I need to do it for Warrick." Nick mumbled as he took his gun and and opened the door, easing himself out quietly, laying the cellphone down in his seat, he looked over to see that his hallucination was no longer there,he had to do what he had to do,even if it meant dying for what he believed in,justice.

"Nick, I read your note, get the hell out of there!" Grissom's voice was loud and angry.

Nick had already started towards the man hiding in the bushes, he never heard the last order from his boss.

**I know this is different but I want you to see Nick's frame of mind, his exhaustion is causing him to see things or is it? Feedback is appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic. Have at me...this story will be rough and is not for those who are young or affected by severe angst and Nick mental torture...at least I will try.

**The Diner**

Sara drove up and down the strip looking for Nick's car, they had even went to his house but Nick was still not at home, their concern was growing for their friend.

Sara parked the rental in the a space and turned off the ignition,"I'm going to grab a cup of coffee,You want one Catherine?"

The silence had been deafening in the car, she knew that Sara was blaming her for what was going on with Nick, she didn't blame her though, she felt as guilty as Sara thought she was and it was her fault.

"I'll come in." She answered and opened her car door and exited,following behind Sara into the almost empty restaurant.

Catherine looked around, the contrast to the night before noticeable, there were no cops anywhere,mostly empty chairs,waitresses attempting to find busy work to keep them on the clock.

Catherine was about to pay for her coffee when the red headed waitress walked up to her with a look of panic,"you were with Nick last night."

Catherine a little caught off guard looked at he waitress,"Yeah,what's wrong?" She had a feeling that the red head had seen Nick more recently.

He came in about an hour ago,he was not in good shape, he looked sick, he almost collapsed." Stephane had wanted to tell someone about her new friend,he just seemed like such a nice guy.

"Did he say where he was going?" Sara interrupted.

Stephane looked at the new face, not recognizing from the teams' visits in the past,"Who are you?"

"I'm Nick's friend Sara Sidle, we use to work together." she explained.

"Listen He didn't say where he was going but he asked me to look at some pictures and he seemed upset that I had recognized the older man's picture as someone who was in the restaurant last night." Stephane explained,hoping that the information would lead them to find Nick.

Catherine's cellphone rang, "Catherine."

"Catherine, I think we have a huge problem. It looks like McKeen is the mole, we're headed to Canyon Bluff,Nick is already there.

"What? McKeen?" Catherine was overwhelmed by the new information.

"I'm worried about Nick, He didn't sound good. " Grissom was watching as they approached the area,the darkness obscuring anything or anyone who might be out there.

"We're on our way Gil." She hung up the phone and motioned for Sara to follow her, she immediately knew who Stephane had identified for Nick.

"Stephane, thanks and if you see Nick before we do call us." Sara wrote down her number and handed to the young woman. She then went out the door after Catherine.

"Where's Nick?" Sara yelled out to Catherine as she opened the doors to the car.

"Canyon bluff. It seems that the man who banned us from the lab is the same person who killed Warrick.", her voice full of emotion, anger and sadness intermixed.

"McKeen is the killer? He killed Warrick?" She was stunned at the news, starting the engine she knew she would have to break a few speed limits to get there, hoping that Nick was smart enough to not attempt to confront McKeen on his own,evidently the man was ruthless, he didn't seem to care to kill his own.

Catherine looked over at Sara,"I'm really worried about Nick."

"Me too." Sara pulled out of the diner parking lot and hit the gas, she needed to get to Canyon Bluff.

**Canyon Bluff**

Nick was almost down on all fours,crawling through the thick brush,attempting to stay as quiet as he possibly could, the shadow taking more the shape of a tall, slender man.

"Where the hell is Pritchard?" He asked out loud to nobody in particular,as he waited in the bushes for the man to show. He had to take care of this one problem then he would feel better. Getting rid of Warrick was a necessity but it was causing problems with his bigger plans.

He glanced down at his watch, it was already a little after ten and he was getting a very bad feeling about the situation. He was about to leave when he saw some movement in front of him, "Pritchard?" Taking out his gun and pointing it towards the moving figure in the bushes.

Nick knew he had been spotted so all he could do was to confront the bastard who had killed his friend, he stood with his gun drawn and pointed it towards the man who had killed his best friend, "No, wrong this time Jeff, it's Nick Stokes."

"I should have known, you've gotten as good as Warrick Brown at getting your ass in trouble. I've got to hand it to you though, you have a little more patience and you're not as impulsive as he was, I guess you know by now that I had to kill him."

"Throw the gun down and put your hands above your head!" Nick shouted out to the older man, his gun pointed at his head.

"He didn't even know what was coming, he didn't even have a chance to beg for his life. It was so easy, he trusted me. Never in a thousand years would he have even suspected that I would take out a gun and shoot him in the neck, it felt so good that I had to shoot him again in his chest. I wanted to stay around to see him suffer but I knew that the shots had been heard, but damn I would have loved to stand there as he took in his last breath."

"Shut up!" Nick yelled, "Shut the hell up you damned son of a bitch!"

"What's wrong Stokes? Does it bother you that I killed your friend? Does it bother you that I would do it again if I had the chance?" He smiled, his weapon still fixed on Nick.

"Put your hands where I can see them, put the gun down on the ground, I will shoot!" Nick's hand was steady, his focus improved from earlier, the adrenaline rush was pushing him to start to take risks.

Nick moved towards the man, his finger tight on the trigger of the gun, the pictures of his friend bleeding to death still fresh in his mind, the eyes staring up at him, begging him to help,begging him to get the man who had killed him,"I won't repeat myself again, put the gun down and put your hands in the air!" He shouted, his voice more clear, the anger more evident.

"I don't think you have what it takes Stokes, you see I know for a fact that Warrick could and would've killed me but not you Stokes, you are too much like Grissom, human life means too much to you and well, you want to reason this out in your mind. You want to see if there is another way." He gave Nick a smile,"So you need to put that gun down son,and you need to do it now. I'll tell them you had a mental break, they will lock you away for a long time, even daddy won't be able to get you out of that mental institution."

"Shut the hell up McKeen,the only person who'll be locked up is you and I have a feeling it won't be so nice for a has been murdering cop. I have a feeling you'll make someone a great bitch." Nick smiled and tightened his grip on his gun and the building anger was causing his finger to start to pull the trigger, he just wanted the man dead.

"Nick, put your gun down!" Grissom yelled from a short distance away, startling both Nick and McKeen.

McKeen saw his chance, he took the shot and Nick went down.

**Okay...I guess I have to beg..do you like or not?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**Canyon Bluff**

"Nick, put your gun down!" Grissom yelled from a short distance away, startling both Nick and McKeen.

McKeen saw his chance, he took the shot and Nick went down, falling down the grassy embankment out of McKeen's line of vision.

McKeen could no longer see his victim, he had to play this cool. He had to stay in control,"I think your CSI was having difficulty with reality, he followed me here on a tip that I would find the mole in our police department. I understand though, he's been through a lot, I hope I didn't kill him." McKeen watched as Grissom and Brass followed by the newest CSI Gregg slowly approached, seeing that Nick had been shot but they could not see him now.

They had heard the conversation between him and McKeen, they knew that McKeen had killed Warrick. They all had heard the confession from his own mouth.

"Put your weapon down McKeen, we heard your confession." Brass yelled to the man who seemed to be sweating profusely, his gun aimed at the disheveled man.

"Listen,I was just going along with the young man, he was going to shoot me." McKeen still was attempting to steer them towards Nick as the person with a mental problem.

"Shut up McKeen!" Brass commanded his superior, now a suspect in the murder of Warrick Brown, by his own confession.

Grissom just wanted to be able to get to his man, his friend. He had been shot by McKeen and all he wanted to do was to see if he was still alive.

"Nick, are you okay?" He yelled feeling responsible for drawing Nick's attention away from McKeen, knowing that he was about to kill the man,wanting to draw his attention towards them, not knowing that McKeen would take an opportunity to shoot Nick down in cold blood in front of all the officers standing and watching.

Suddenly McKeen was thrown down by surprise into the hard dirt, his gun falling out of his hand and to the ground. A bloody Nick came up and hit him square in the jaw,knocking the man across the ground and into a ditch, not stopping but going down with him, wanting to take whatever he could from the man. His anger unstoppable, he continued to hit the man, sending him further down the hill, his blood soaked shirt now being mixed with dirt and fine gravel.

"You killed Warrick. You son of a bitch!" Nick hit him again knocking him hard against the ground,then he drew out his gun,"I'm going to take your life the way you took my friend's life." He took the gun and placed it to McKeen's head,his finger pulling ever so slightly on the trigger.

"Shoot me, I really don't want to go to prison. If you can pull that trigger then pull it Stokes. Kill me!" McKeen screamed at the CSI, "Dammit, kill me!" He demanded, wanting to die, a fate better than going to prison.

His eyes were filled with anger, he wanted to kill him, he wanted to take the life of the man who had taken Warrick's life but something was stopping him,something was keeping his finger from pulling the trigger,Warrick's words echoing in his mind,'If you kill him it will be for you, not for me.'

A police helicopter hovered, the sound deafening, overhead but it was giving him enough light to see the murderer's face, enough light to see the man's frightened look and he knew what he had to do,he knew that he had to let it go, allow the justice be carried out in court,the man's own confession would be enough to convict him in a court of law, they had heard, they all knew what he had done.

"Get up!" Nick demanded,the man shook his head in refusal.

"I said to get up!" He lowered his weapon and allowed the officers who had gathered around watching the confrontation to pull the man to his feet, to handcuff him and walk him away, Brass and Grissom at Nick's side.

"Nick, you've been shot." Grissom was worried, knowing that the adrenaline rush would soon be gone and his friend would collapse.

"We need the paramedics!" Brass shouted, seeing the blood on Nick's shirt,wanting to get him medical assistance, but knowing that Nick was going to fight it if it was forced, his state of mind was worrisome,his emotional pain evident.

Nick waved them off,oblivious to the men around him, all he wanted to do was get back to his vehicle and go back to the motel and sleep,Warrick would be so proud that he had made the right decision,the right choice.

"He's in shock." Gregg mumbled as he saw his friend attempt to walk away.

"Nick, where are you going man?" Gregg asked wanting his friend to get medical attention. He had never seen Nick like this before and it scared him.

"I'm fine Gregg,I just want to sleep now." Brass and Grissom followed Nick through the growing crowd of officers,the paramedics also now at Nick's side attempting to get him to just allow them to see his wounds.

Then Nick saw him through the crowd, his friend Warrick smiling but then suddenly giving him that stern look, the look he always gave him when he did something stupid. Warrick held up his fist, giving him the rock paper scissors sign, if he lost he would allow the medics to take care of him, if he won,hell he could go back to the motel and sleep, he raised his fist and on three he came up with rock,Warrick had paper, Nick sat down on the ground,his friend had won.

Nick eyes closed and he fell to his side but was quickly caught by Brass, the medics now looking at the wound to his upper shoulder, no exit wound found. The bullet would have to removed surgically. They quickly started an intravenous line, Brass muttered obscenities at the situation that had brought Nick to this point.

Grissom took Nick's hand and gave it a hard squeeze,"You did the right thing Nicky. McKeen will pay for what he did." He gave his man a small grin, it was difficult to see Nick lying down,bleeding from a wound that was inflicted by the man who had killed his Rock.

The officers escorted McKeen to the awaiting police car, handcuffed but still proclaiming his innocence,"I'm innocent, you will see, I didn't do anything wrong! Pritchard set me up, I swear." He screamed at the men who had taken orders from him so many times in the past but it made sense to Brass,so many things were clearer now. His Miranda rights were being read out loud so that anybody in ears reach could hear.

Catherine and Sara drove up, chaos all around, the man who was the Undersheriff in handcuffs, being led to an awaiting police car. They both exited the vehicle and made their way towards Grissom, who was now following the gurney towards the awaiting ambulance.

"What happened?" Sara yelled at the sight of Nick lying on the gurney, eyes closed, with blood oozing from his shoulder and his face covered with bruises and cuts.

"He won." Brass answered and walked over to get in the ambulance with Nick,feeling a certain amount of guilt for what he had to suffer at the hands of a fellow cop.

**I'm just getting started guys...there will many more chapters ahead.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**Canyon Bluff**

"_He won." Brass answered and walked over to get in the ambulance with Nick,feeling a certain amount of guilt for what he had to suffer at the hands of a fellow cop._

Brass watched as the paramedics loaded Nick into the awaiting ambulance, a furious McKeen could still be heard in the background screaming his innocence,the words, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law, were being read to the man who had been arrest for the murder of Warrick Brown. The words were music to his ears. McKeen would pay for what he did to Warrick, to Nick and to the nightshift team.

"I'm going with Nick, get an officer to bring my car to Desert Palm." he instructed the officer standing nearest to him as they closed the doors to the ambulance cab and it took off.

Grissom and Gregg climbed into Sara's car with Catherine and they followed behind the ambulance, along with several police cars. Nobody spoke, it was as if no words were needed.

**Desert Palm**

The ambulance pulled up into the entrance unloading area, both the sirens of the ambulance and the multiple police cars were bombarding the staff as they went out to meet their patient.

They unloaded the gurney, Brass making sure that there was no interference from either media or fellow officers. He walked in with the gurney,watching his wounded CSI as they wheeled him into the cubicle to be treated.

Dr Karen Roberts walked in as the staff was doing their jobs of removing clothing and establishing life saving lines,type and cross already started as were the multiple other tests that need to be run. The xray machine made its way into the area, taking a quick picture of Nick's chest, a small moan could be heard as they lifted him to placed the xray plate behind his back and again when they removed it to be taken to the radiology to be processed.

Brass stood to the back of the small space,watching and staying out of the way. He needed to get back to the station, Pritchard was still handcuffed to the bolted down metal table. He would wait until Nicky was taken to surgery though, everything and everyone could wait.

"What happened?" The doctor asked loudly, attempting to gather information to be able to proceed forward with the man's care.

Nobody answered so Brass thought he would interject,"I'm Captain Brass with the LVPD, this man was shot with a handgun, police issue. He also was placed in a position of having to fight for his life, he was in a lot of dirt and gravel and so was his wound."

The doctor nodded, feeling that asking the man who could give her the most information to leave so she allowed him to stay."Thank you sir, we need a surgical consult." The nurse taking off to get her a surgeon.

"Do you know when he ate last?" The question directed at Brass.

"I doubt he's eaten in a while, he's been under a lot of pressure with the death of his friend." Brass answered,wondering when Nick had actually ate or drank anything last.

"Let's get a blood sugar stat, see what he's doing here, he sure seems to be sleeping rather heavily, the wound to his shoulder is bad but it shouldn't make him so unresponsive." The doctor was concerned for her patient,the bleeding seemed to be controlled, fluids being infused at a bolus rate.

The nurse took a finger and stuck it with a small lancet and placed the blood on the small strip, within seconds the reading appeared, he's at 36,if this is reading correctly.

"Dammit!" The doctor cursed, grabbing an amp of D50 and placing it in the angiocath and pushing it with a little effort."Let's hang some D10 and get another blood sugar in a few minutes." She turned, her attention directed at Brass, "Is he a diabetic?"

"Not that I know of, he's probably not been eating or drinking, he's been through a lot in a very few days." Brass felt useless all of a sudden.

The processed film was brought into the room,the bullet had not gone too far and would be easily removed if it stayed where it was at the moment."Let's get him upstairs, on that gurney, I do not want him moved. Make sure we check another blood sugar when we get him upstairs."

The staff nodded in understanding and released the brakes on the gurney and took off towards the elevator.

Brass knew his time was up, he would direct the night crew to the surgical suite and then make his way back to the station, he had business to take care of and he needed to do it now.

**LVDP station**

As they brought the Undersheriff into the station all eyes were on the man who had killed a fellow law enforcement officer and attempted to kill another.

The media flashed their cameras as they entered the station,the sheriff leading the way up the hallway, Mckeen didn't say a word, he just stared forward,knowing that he needed a lawyer.

"Bring him in here." The sheriff directed the officers, two men ,one on each side.

They entered the empty room, a phone sitting on the table."Allow him to make a call to his lawyer." The sheriff instructed as he left, leaving the door to the interrogation room open,this was the worse press he had ever had to endure for the station, he needed to start making sure it didn't get any worse.

Brass's phone rang as he entered the front door of the station, it was the sheriff, "Brass." He answered.

"I need you here at the station, we have some some major issues to deal with as far as press and how this will play out in the media, a conference will be held in an hour." The sheriff was clearly upset at the turn of events.

"I'm here, I need to take care of something first, I'll be there in a few minutes." He hung up the phone and proceeded back to Pritchard, the officer still stationed outside.

Brass opened the door, Pritchard was sitting quietly in the room, "Did he show?" he asked Brass anxiously.

"Yeah, but I'm having a hard time with the fact that you didn't know who it was since you sent CSI Stokes to the meeting place." Brass spat out, feeling a wave of increased anger at the fact that Nick was shot.

"How did you know." Pritchard asked.

"I had a feeling since Nick just happened to know where the meeting place was tonight and he just happened to get shot." Brass was in the man's face, his own anger making his face red and his voice loud.

"Nick was Brown's best friend, I knew he would follow the lead." Pritchard attempted to explain.

"And you are now my worse enemy,I'll make sure that you pay if anything happens to Nick Stokes, do I make myself clear?" He spoke directly into the man's right ear.

The man did not answer,he was just happy that he was safe now, the hell with anybody else, the hell with Nick Stokes.

When Brass did not get an answer he reached over and undid the handcuffs and pulled the man's arm tightly around his back,"Did I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly." He answered, as Brass pushed him out of the room into the hallway, the officers now seeing that the man who they thought had killed Warrick Brown had been taken into custody also.

**Desert Palm**

Nick's surgery hadn't taken long, the bullet was easily removed and he was placed in step down surgical unit, now his friends sat around the bed awaiting for him to awaken.

They all were exhausted, Catherine had left to go home with her family. Her guilt was eating her alive but she knew that right now Lindsey and her mother needed her and she decided to leave,encouraged by her friends that they would call when Nick awakened.

Gregg and Grissom sat quietly in the room, Sara had left to make a run to the cafeteria to get coffee. The lack of sleep effecting them all, especially Grissom, who like Nick had not slept in days,effected by the arrest and the murder of their friend.

Nick's doctor had told them that Nick hadn't been taking care of himself, his lab values indicative of someone who had not eaten or taken enough fluids in days. It could effect his recovery, the healing process could be slowed.

Nick's eyes fluttered opened,he immediately knew he was in a hospital, the familiar sting of the needles and the soft sounds of machinery around him. He was in pain but it actually was a good thing, it was the first thing he had felt in days,it was welcomed.

"Hey Nick, you awake?" Gregg stood and walked over to Nick's bed, looking down at his friend who could barely manage to open his eyes, the exhaustion evident.

Nick nodded, feeling too weak to speak,the mental and physical exhaustion was taking its toll.

Grissom had been dozing but was now standing too, taking in the tired appearance of his CSI,"Nicky, you want a drink?"

Nick shook his head, he just wanted to sleep, go back into the comforting darkness of medicated sleep, it was safe there, he didn't have to face the fact that his friend was dead,that Warrick was gone."I'm tired."

Grissom's nodded, immediate understanding of his friend's desire to be left alone, he had been through too much in the past few hours and all he wanted to do was sleep."Listen, we're right here if you need us."

Nick looked up at his boss, he suddenly remembered the file that he had put together and that he had left it at the motel. The DNA and fiber analysis would be helpful in the case, he turned to face Grissom."The file,it's at Tanner's Motel and Bar, room 28." He attempted to sit up but was stopped by Grissom's firm hand.

"We'll get it Nicky. Do you have the key?" He asked as he opened the small closet and took a white bag that held the remains of Nick's clothes, which should have been turned in as part of the crime scene evidence from Canyon Bluff, an attempted murder charge would be brought against McKeen for Nick also."I'll take care of it."

Gregg turned around, knowing that he had slept some that day and that he could run and get the file and Nick's things."I'll go." Gregg reached his hand out for the key that had been retrieved from Nick's pants by Grissom.

Grissom handed him the key,"Do you know where it is?"

Gregg looked down at a now dozing Nick,"I have map quest, I'll find it."

Grissom nodded and watched as Gregg exited the room, his own need for sleep becoming a necessity. At that moment Sara walked in with three cups of coffee,"Where's Gregg going in such a hurry?"

"He's going to get the file that Nick had made." Grissom didn't feel like explaining everything, his own exhaustion making him feel light headed. He took a seat and a cup of the offered coffee and sat back ans looked at Nick.

"He's really going to miss Warrick." Sara spoke quietly taking a seat next to her lover, reaching out and holding his hand,"We all are."

Grissom nodded and closed his eyes, almost dropping the cup of hot coffee, Sara realizing that Grissom was just as exhausted as Nick. She grabbed the coffee and sat it on the table and called out for a cot, the nurse brought it almost immediately.

"Grissom, I want you to lie down, he need to rest. Nick is doing fine." Sara spoke quietly in to Grissom's ear. The nurse and Sara assisting him into lying down. Sara walked over to Nick and reached down and gave him a small kiss on his cheek, she had really missed her friends.

The doctor was making her final rounds, she just wanted to see her patient one last time, his condition stable but she still needed to make one last stop.

She opened the door and looked at the chart, the man's friends had not left him. She felt better since his vitals were looking better but this man had been through a lot and it would be a fight to make sure that he stayed in the hospital were he could heal properly,he was a stubborn one from the looks of his wounds.

As she exited she shook her head she would need some sleep, she would have her hands full tomorrow.

**The Motel**

Gregg unlocked the door and walked into the dark room, finding a light he hit the switch, a sudden realization of Nick's pain evident. Cigarette butts littered the table,an unopened drink sit on the bedside table, the bed unused,pictures littered the wall of McKeen and Pritchard,the file opened and the papers inside scattered on the bed, Nick's clothes still in the bag at the foot of the bed.

His friend had been in a dark place, and he wondered if they could pull him back from where he had been headed, t he note found on the refrigerator was a sign that Nick was not planning on surviving whatever he had planned.

He gathered the papers and placed them into the folder,Nick's computer sitting on the table, he closed and unplugged. Gregg grabbed Nick's bag and headed out the door, he could not even imagine his health crazed friend smoking,he left the pack of cigarettes lying on the table.

As he walked back out to the car he realized that he had forgotten to take the key back so he threw Nick's things into the car and walked back into the small building to turn in the key, he waited for the clerk,looking around, wondering why Nick had chosen this particular place. It was dirty and it stunk,nobody that could be thinking straight would stay here, except maybe Grissom and only then to study the habits of the cockroaches.

The dirty little man came around the desk and stared at Gregg, a look of confusion,"I just wanted to turn in this key." He handed the key to room 28 to the man.

The man stared at the key,"I thought he was going to stay a few days."

"He had a change of plans." The man took a look at the young man and felt that he understood, he had found a lover,"Here." He bent down and grabbed a package,"This came for your boyfriend."

Gregg gave the man a look and then took the package,a fair sized box with Nick Stokes name and the motel address,no postage noted.

"It came for him about an hour ago, I found it when I got back from my lunch break." The older man explained as he deposited the key back on the hanger.

"Thanks." Gregg placed his ear near the box to see if it was ticking,a little weary of a package delivered to a place that nobody knew about except for Nick.

Gregg took the package out to his car but he wanted to have it examined first before taking it to Nick. He would call Brass, he could help him get it into the lab for analysis.

Gregg started his engine and drove to the station, calling Brass on his cell.

**This is one of those needed chapters to get everything in a different place. I want to thank each of you who responded personally, I will get that done today and those who were anon...well, thank you very much!!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**Remember guys I am following the Kübler-Ross model which describes, in five discrete stages, the process by which people deal with grief and tragedy. The five stages of grief are: Denial, anger, bargaining,depression and acceptance. A person can go from one to the other but the final will be acceptance but that is a ways off for my friend I'm afraid. Sorry.**

**A quick thanks to all who have responded, any writer loves feedback, but most of you know I tend to follow my own path but I do listen sometimes and I love to hear from you...And to TPTB...I really hope you give Nick some angsty moments...we love angsty moments for our hero! And to me ...Nick is a HERO!**

**Desert Palm**

Sara was awakened by the sound of the rubber wheels on the IV pole moving against the tiled floor, she opened her eyes to see Nick moving slowly across the floor to the bathroom.

"Nick, you need some help?" Sara asked as he watched the man move towards the bathroom door.

"I think I can handle it." His raspy voice, caused from the intubation during his surgery, called out as he disappeared behind the door.

He locked the door and stood in the quiet bathroom. As he looked into the mirror,his pale coloring a contrast to the bruises that now covered his face and body, he saw a man who had been beaten. He just wanted to go home and now he had babysitters,they would never leave him alone.

His mind was wondering, the funeral would be in a few days and he just wanted to be out of the hospital, he wanted to go home. He needed to mourn his friend's death now, the killer had been captured, he would pay a price for what he had done to Warrick.

"Hey you did a great job." a voice from behind the shower curtain announced.

Nick jumped, the voice jarring him from his thoughts,"What the hell?" he asked as he pulled the shower curtain open to find his friend.

"Nicky, you okay man?" Warrick asked as he leaned against the bathroom tile.

"You left me." Nick accused as he took a seat on the closed commode lid.

"I never left Nicky, I just had to allow you to make a decision on your own and by the way you made the right one." Warrick came over, his head close to his wound,"Wow, that had to hurt." making a face at the large bandage.

"Stop it Warrick, I should have killed the son of a bitch but you had to make me feel guilty and I held back, thinking that the justice system could get the job done." He rubbed his face with his hand and looked up at his friend.

"It's what we've always believed in Nick, I'm sure McKeen will get what he deserves." Warrick sat down on the tub,"Look Nicky, we both know that you did the right thing,and I'm proud of you buddy."

"Don't be, because I still have a desire to kill the bastard and a part of me wishes that you hadn't given such a guilt trip in the car." Looking at his friend in the dim fluorescent light.

Warrick shrugged, seeing that his friend was in a dark place. "I saved your ass Nick, in more ways than one. You aren't like that man. You're better than that."

"Am I Warrick? I thought I was human, with human emotions. I want my friend back and I want that son of a bitch to pay for what he did to you!" Tears were now streaming down his face, his voice loud enough to be heard in the other room, now people were knocking at the door, concerned for his well-being.

"Now look what you've done. You've alerted the big man." Warrick joked as Grissom yelled Nick's name on the other side of the door, accompanied by a nurse and Sara.

"They're going to place me in restraints, thinking that I've really gone over the edge." Nick moaned as he wiped away the tears and reached for the door handle, hesitating to take one more glance of his friend.

"Would you hurry man, they won't wait forever before they kick the door down." Warrick joked, giving a small smile to his friend.

Nick rolled his eyes and clicked the lock off and opened the door,"What?" he asked his friends and the nurse who were now starring at him as if he had lost his mind.

"Who were you talking to Nick?" Sara asked as she looked around the small room.

"Myself." He stood and started back to the bed, pulling his IV pole along, remembering that he had never taken the time to actually do what he went in there to do, but it could wait, he knew that they would be taking the door off the hinges after that little trick and giving him a pee bottle.

"Nick, are you okay?" Grissom asked rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I'm fine, just needed to let off a little steam." He looked up at the concerned crowd, giving them a small grin, which put them at rest.

"How's your shoulder Mr Stokes?" The nurse asked as she assessed the bandage on his shoulder.

"It hurts but other than that I feel fine." he lied, knowing that if he wanted to go to his friend's funeral he needed to play the game and that meant he would have to stop with hallucinations of his friend. They were hallucinations weren't they, he questioned himself.

**The Lab**

Gregg had xrayed the package but it did not contain anything that looked like an explosive, Brass was watching from outside as Gregg process the package.

Gregg carefully opened the package and looked inside, something was wrapped in brown paper tissue, he carefully lifted it, his goggles and shield in place.

"What the hell?" he asked himself as he undid the wrapper after taking pictures of the contents.

A metal container was inside the paper,that was being carefully peeled away. Gregg was shocked as he opened the lid to the container,his mouth gaping open at the contents.

Brass watched as Gregg opened the box and was baffled at Gregg's sudden halt of motion.

Gregg turned and motioned for Brass to enter,to see what was inside the box.

"What?" the only word that could from the superior's mouth.

"I have a feeling somebody was trying to communicate with Nick,it's all the files from Lou Gedda's office on McKeen and his dirty dealings." He was going through the stacked files with gloved hands,seeing how deep McKeen was in the underground world of crime and the deaths that he was responsible for in the past." Gregg shook his head, these files alone would make millions in a book but quickly shook that thought of of his mind remembering that this man had also killed his friend.

Brass started to read through the files, they finally had the evidence to connect Gedda with McKeen, but who had sent this to Nicky and how did they know that Nicky was at the motel,not even the team knew. He was getting a bad feeling,the kind that makes you feel as if the world has turned inside out.

"I need to get back to the hospital, I'll lock these up if you want me to." Gregg offered.

Brass shook his head, these files needed to go to a safe place and copies needed to be made,but what if there was someone else in the department that was connected to these two men, it only made sense."Listen, I'll take care of these, I need you to not tell Nick. This is bigger than all of us and I have a feeling we'll be turning this over to internal affairs, this is husge,much more complicated than what we originally thought. There are names in here to other moles and possible murders and murderers,not just here but also in Henderson."

Gregg hesitated for a few seconds, "How did they know where Nick was and how did they get their hands on these files?"

"Looks like we might have a new problem." he hesitated at he looked down at the files," A mole problem." Brass looked at the young CSI,a concerned look now covering his usually stoic face.

Gregg nodded and walked away, he needed to get back to the hospital, he needed to check on his friend.

**Desert Palm**

Nick had his eyes closed, the pain medication was enough to put him out but he still had too much on his mind to allow sleep to claim his tired body, the crowd was growing in his room, family and friends visiting the man who had captured McKeen, taken a beating for what he had believed in, justice.

Grissom and Sara had left to go home and get some sleep, the wake for Warrick would be held at his grandmother's tonight at her home and then another would be at the funeral home near the station for th e officers and friends from the department.

Catherine had still not returned, Grissom had called her earlier to give her an update on Nick, telling her that Nick seemed to be fine,nothing that time wouldn't eventually heal as far as hte wound was concerned.

Dr Karen Richards entered the room, the crowd disappeared, her strict method of caring for her patients would be enforced, no visitors for the rest of the day, her patient needed his rest.

"You can open your eyes now, they're gone." Dr Richards announced to her patient, seeing that his breathing pattern was not that of a sleeping man's.

Nick opened his tired eyes and looked up at the doctor, whom he didn't recognize, but hell he hadn't remembered too much since he was admitted except for Warrick in the bathroom, that was enough for one day.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she pulled back the dressing on his shoulder.

"Fine." his answer short and sweet but he couldn't help but to grimace as she messed with the open wound.

"So you're a tough one." She remarked as she wrote a note on his chart.

"No, I'm not, that hurt." He really wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody.

She took in his appearance, his sad brown eyes catching her attention,"Listen, you have a fever this afternoon, we need to start you on a round of antibiotics."

He nodded and continued to stare off in deep thought. He really didn't have anything to say except that he had no plans in regards to staying another night, he needed to take care of Warrick's grandmother and go to his friend's funeral.

"Okay, I guess we'll rebandage this wound and get your antibiotics started," She started to walk over to the door when she stopped,"If you think you'll be able to leave before I release you then you might want to rethink that, I am ordering you a sitter,someone who can keep an eye on you until I write your orders for discharge."

She turned around to take in the surprised look on her patient's face,"And that will be in a few days, possibly even a week, it'll depend on you and how hard you try to get better." She gave him a stern look, then left the room.

Nick felt like throwing the water pitcher at the door, the evil bitch doctor wouldn't stop him from going to his friend's funeral.

He reached down to remove the IV but her head popped back into the door"If you remove my line I will place restraints on you and replace it with something you can't remove." she gave him a small smile and a reprimanding look then disappeared again.That's what she thought.

Nick couldn't control himself, he picked up the water pitcher and threw it against the door, the full pitcher slammed against the wall emptying its contents all over the wall and floor. His anger getting the best of him. He would find a way to go to his friend's wake and funeral.

He attempted to stand when he heard a voice clear behind him, the devil doctor had returned he thought, turning to give her a piece of his mind, instead a young tech was standing in the door with an arm full of towels."I was going to give you a bath but I think we had better clean this up first." Pointing at the mess he had made.

"I don't want a bath!" his voice raised and full of anger, he just wanted to be left alone, he just wanted to be to be left alone, why couldn't anybody understand that simple need.

The tech left to get assistance.

**Okay, if you feel the need to speak to me...speak, I honestly love it when you talk to me!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**Desert Palm**

Gregg walked down the hallway towards his friend's room,carrying him fresh clothing from his bag from the motel in one hand, a toiletry bag in another, a crowd gathered outside."What the hell?" he muttered to himself.

He walked to the front of the gathering and smiled, his friend Nick had made quiet a mess, but it looked as if they were getting the best of him, Nick's doctor smiling as she walked out of the room.

Gregg walked into the room as the doctor left and smiled at his friend,"What did you do man to piss off the doc?" he couldn't help but to smile as Nick's newly acquired sitter, a large lady who seemed to have more attitude than Catherine Willows when she was on a rampage.

"Sir, what are you doing? Can you not read the sign that says no visitors?" Her mouth more sassy than any woman he had ever processed at the station.

"Listen, I'm here to see my friend Nick, he's been through a lot in the past few days, I just want a short visit." He walked over and saw that Nick was actually sleeping soundly.

"He's asleep, the doctor gave him a sedative, he'll be lucky to awake by morning, the doctor wants him to rest." The sassy woman explained, pointing towards the door for him to take the hint and leave, her orders to keep the patient quiet, which she more than understood and she would do her job.

"Tell him Gregg stopped by." Gregg was a little concerned that Nick was being treated so harshly but knew it was actually for his own good.

"Write it on the board, I don't have no time to be passing on messages, what do I look like, a secretary?" her volume going up a little bit more.

"Nooooo, I'll write my message on the board, no problem." His own hands starting to shake a little bit,the woman wasn't the nicest person he'd ever met, but she was definitely the person for the job.

He walked over to the white board to write the message but there was no marker and by gosh he wasn't going to ask Ms Friendly for one, so instead he took out a pen and a piece of paper and wrote a short note and left it on Nick's beside table. Giving the wicked witch of the North a grin he turned and left, he could hear her say something about him being a panty waist as he walked out the door, he was now definitely feeling sorry for his friend Nick.

**Grissom's Condo**

"Gil, I was wondering, what's Warrick's grandmother's name?" she was brushing her hair as she exited the bathroom still in her robe.

"Her name is Hattie Rutherford. She's a good woman, Warrick was lucky to have such a wonderful woman to raise him after his mother died when he was only seven years old. A lot of kids aren't that lucky." He adjusted his tie and reached down to get his jacket, looking around at Sara who still wasn't dressed.

"I'm almost ready, just give me a moment to get my dress on." She was aware they were running a little late.She walked over and slipped the dress on her slender body, Grissom watched as Sara dressed, it had been a long time since he had been able to enjoy a simple moment like this.

"Is Nicky coming to the wake?" She asked as she sat down on the bed to put her does on,her tanned legs didn't need any hosiery.

"He has a fever, the doctor doesn't think it's wise to allow him out of the hospital so soon, she doesn't want him to get an infection in that wound." Grissom was placing his wallet and his keys into his pockets.

"He can't miss Warrick's funeral, it would devastate him, even more than he is right now." Concerned that Nick was having thoughts of not returning just the day before, accepting death as readily as he was willing to do, going as far as to leave a note to direct Grissom to his will. The note even described where he wanted to be buried.

"If he does what the doctor instructs then he should be out in time for Warrick's funeral,but if he is stubborn then he won't." Grissom turned to Sara and gave her a sad look, "Hopefully he'll listen to his doctor."

"You don't get it do you Gil." she gave him a confused look,"Just like you didn't get it when Nick was rescued from that grave with ants attempting to eat him alive. Nick is human, and only human, and unlike you he is sensitive to other people's needs. He has to be able to come to the funeral Gil, even if we have to take him ourselves." She was angry at the man whom she loved more than life because sometimes he could be so oblivious to things.

"That might not be so easy, I hear that Nick was given a fairly tough sitter to make sure he doesn't leave,and that he's getting some much needed rest." Grissom raised his eyebrows at Sara,"Even Gregg was a little intimidated by this sitter."

"That don't take much to do, he's Gregg." She grabbed her purse and sweater and headed out of the room.

Grissom followed,wondering what she had meant by that comment.

**Desert Palm**

Nick awakened to the low snores of his new sitter, Bertha the witch had left,the 'queen of mean' his new nickname for the the hateful woman. The new woman could be his grandmother and she was as gray-headed as Grandma Stokes and she snored just as loud.

His sore arm was feeling worse than earlier, it felt heavy and warm. His mouth tasted like copper, the effects of the new antibiotic and the sedative Doctor Roberts had given him earlier to make him sleep. His right hip still sore from the needle stick and the thick medication she had injected. Lesson learned, don't throw your water pitcher at the door or yell at your tech, no matter how pissed you are at the situation.

He looked around and saw that someone had brought him some fresh clothing, jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of loafers. He just needed to get out of the bed and get to the clothes; without waking the little woman next to his bed.

Nick looked over and saw that the little woman was sound asleep,he threw his legs over the side of the bed and just as he was about to stand he saw that the bed alarm had been set, a beeping noise was already starting to sound as he tossed himself back into the bed, looking over to see if he had disturbed granny.

"Are you okay Mr Stokes?" the small voice asked in the semi-dark room.

"Yeah, I was just getting up to go to the bathroom." He was hoping granny would turn off the alarm and forget to reset it but she was already at his side with a urinal.

"What?" He asked, confused to the presence of the urinal.

"I can help if you need some help." She offered as she started pulling back the blanket. "Do you need to stand a little, some men can't go unless they're standing." she continued to talk,really not showing much interest in the actual answer that he was giving, which was to leave him and his urinal alone.

"I'm fine, really. I'm fine." Startled by the woman's aggressive behavior and her interest in his voiding habits, pulling the blanket back over himself.

"Okay, tell me when you're finished, I'll help you get tucked back into bed." She instructed but she never turned her head,keeping a watchful eye on her patient.

He closed his eyes and attempted to use the plastic container underneath the blanket but it was to no avail and the little woman would make him stand, probably even offer even to hold the urinal for him so that he could finish his business, the thought almost made him want to scream.

"Listen, I'm a private person, I just want to go to the bathroom by myself." He pleaded with the woman.

"You're on bedrest. Sorry, but you'll have to stay in bed, the nurse could possibly place a catheter though." She took the unused urinal and set it on the table, looking at the empty container with an unusual interest.

"I'm actually fine. Can I have a drink of water?" He asked attempting to change the subject.

"Well, if you're having a problem urinating then maybe we shouldn't drink anything else until you're able to go potty." She smiled and pulled his blanket back over him, tucking in the sides.

He closed his eyes and wished he were dead, death being a far better fate than having to deal with the women sitters of Desert Palm."Wake me up when it's morning.",Now he just wanted to sleep until the little woman was gone, even Bertha wouldn't drive him as crazy as this little woman.

"Well,I'm concerned now and I'll probably need to wake you every hour until you are able to pee, it's not good to hold your pee son." She explained in her sweet little voice,"You can get infections and that wouldn't be good." She continued to talk,even though she really didn't expect an answer,she just loved to talk.

Nick covered his ears underneath the blanket,wishing silently for death to consume him.

**Okay, I really have a little tech who is just like this little woman so I just had to add her to my story. She is adorable though.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**The Wake**

Hodges and Wendy entered the home of Hattie Rutherford, the living room was immaculate and the room smelled like a mixture of fresh flowers and Lysol.

"Where's the casket?" Hodges asked as he looked around the darkened room, candles lit through the house giving it an almost eerie feeling.

Wendy pointed down the hallway to a candle lit room where a crowd had gathered,"I think it's in there." Pointing towards the room.

They proceeded down the hallway and started to look around inside the rather large room, the casket sitting towards the back wall, a picture of Warrick when he was younger sitting on top a draped flag.

Chairs lined the wall on both sides, so that people could go inside the room to mourn the loss of their friend and loved one. Hodges and Wendy walked in, the room was quiet except for a few sobs that could be heard.

Hodges looked around and recognized several people from the lab but he also knew that the official receiving of friends would be the next night at the funeral home, this wake was mostly for close family and friends, the lab considered Warrick their close friend and a part of a work family.

Wendy watched as Grissom and Sara arrived, then Catherine and her family, each time they would go up to the casket and stand for a few minutes and reflect on their friend.

No words were said, it was a time of mourning, a time to grieve. Wendy felt that Nick was missing something that he really needed, he had gone through so much when Sara left, it was almost like a death. Now his true friend had died and he was in the hospital,unable to mourn this tremendous loss in his life.

Wendy watched as the rest of the lab staff entered, each person taking a moment to reflect and no one was without tears,not even Hodges, who had always seemed immune from any true emotion.

She wiped away her own tears and noticed that Gregg had entered the room, a small smile on his face as he approached the casket, as if Warrick might have just told him a joke. Gregg stood in front of the casket for several minutes, and when he turned his eyes were red and his face wet, the loss was evident, the pain visible.

Wendy stood and walked out of the room, she knew what she had to do for her friend Nick, she knew that Nick could not miss another opportunity to say good-bye.

As she walked out of the room she passed a small,frail woman, dressed all in black, the years had definitely been kind, she didn't have many wrinkles on her face and the gray in her hair was covered with a black hat with gold trim.

Hattie Rutherford stood in the door for several moments then walked up to her grandson's casket, Wendy watched from the door as the little lady placed both of her gloved hands on top of the casket, and then lay her cheek against the flag draped coffin. The pride she had for her grandson was evident. Tears rolled down her cheeks, onto the cloth, the pain so evident for her loss.

Wendy turned and continued out the door, Nick would need to be able to grieve too, and nobody would stop her from getting him to the funeral home, not even the new sitter rule that had been placed that day, according to Gregg earlier. Bertha was one to contend with and she knew she would have her hands full getting Nick out of the hospital the next day, but she would do it for her friend.

**The next morning**

**Desert Palm**

Doctor Richards walked into Nick's room, she was met with fevered eyes and flushed cheeks, her patient had a high fever. "How are you feeling Mr Stokes?" She asked,her conversation with the nurse earlier informed her that he hadn't slept well, even with the medications.

He ignored her,she had taken away something important from him and all he wanted to do right now as to fire her as his doctor. He turned over to face the window, his shoulder was on fire but the hell if she was going to see his pain.

"Okay, that's fair, you are mad at me. That's fine, I will continue to do my job though." She walked over and pulled down the sheet,feeling the warmth of her patient's skin. She then pulled back the bandage and saw increased redness and drainage, the small drain coming out of the wound was nearly full.

"I want to go to my friend's funeral tomorrow and to the service tonight." His voice low and in pain, he needed to say good-bye. He had to say good-bye to his friend.

"Right now you'll be lucky if you aren't in ICU, I am a little concerned that you might be getting septic from that wound." She explained as she wrote new orders to change the antibiotic and to get blood and urine cultures. She looked down at the man who really cared about the loss of a friend, but what the man had to realize was that he was too sick to go to any funeral, except maybe his own, and by gosh she wouldn't allow that to happen.

Nick rolled his eyes for the hundredth time since his admission, he just wanted to go home and he was being treated like a child."I'm going to the funeral tomorrow,I really don't need your permission, I have rights." He sat up a little in the bed,enough to where he could see his doctor's face,"It's what I'm going to do, so expect it. You're not telling me that I can't leave."

She wasn't really use to having people tell her what to do,hell she was always telling others and she wasn't going to change now for Nicholas Stokes. "We'll see Mr Stokes." She turned to leave, almost out of the door when she turned,"I know about the note you left and I can get a medical hold,don't push me Mr Stokes, it wouldn't be prudent to try me."

The desire to throw the water pitcher was there again, he would need a plan to escape this hell,Bertha sitting next to him, giving him a don't go there look. He rolled back over and closed his eyes only to be awakened a few minutes later by the lab tech who wanted to stick him, not just once but twice for blood. Just when he thought it was over he was confronted by his new nurse, Julia.

"Having a bad morning I hear. My name is Julia, I'm your nurse today." She walked over and pulled a marker out of her pocket and wrote her name on the board.

She pulled out a couple of pills and placed them in a small medicine cup and handed them to him,"These are for your fever Mr Stokes, it's Tylenol."

Nick took the offered pills and popped them into his mouth, she handed him a cup of cool water to swallow them down with. It felt good against his parched throat."Thank you."

"You're welcome. Is there anything else I can get for you?" she asked as she walked over and placed a specimen cup into the bathroom, holding it up for him to see, words weren't needed for what she needed.

Nick looked over at Bertha and shook his head, he was not going to allow Bertha to take him to the bathroom or anywhere else, she looked capable of hurting him this morning, her mood swings noted the day before.

Julia smiled,"Mr Stokes, I will assist you." She walked over and turned off the bedrail alarm, then assisted him to the bathroom, he felt weaker than the day before, the IV pole a little bit more difficult to push and walk at the same time.

He looked behind the curtain, Warrick was nowhere in sight, he just closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment by himself.

**LVPD Station**

Jeffrey McKeen sat quietly in his cell, his bond denied the day before,he was too big of a flight risk. The orange jumpsuit scratched at his skin and his irritation with the officer staring at him with angered faces, was pissing him off.

An officer whom he didn't recognize entered the holding cell area and delivered him a breakfast tray. He walked over and uncovered the plate to find powered eggs and a piece of bread. The cup of coffee was tepid at best but he drank it anyways, the eggs tasted like paper and the bread was at least a few days old.

After he had finished eating he walked back over to his sink, a pain in his gut started and he bent over double, "What the hell?" He asked thinking that someone had tampered with his food. Within seconds he was writhing on the floor in convulsions, the officer standing at his door was calling for assistance, but it was too late, Jeffery McKeen was dead.

Officers attempted to revive him, the fast responding paramedics also placed forth an effort but on arrival to County Hospital, he was pronounced dead on arrival.

**Jim Brass's Office**

Brass had filled out all the paperwork concerning the death of Warrick Brown and the evidence that had been brought to Nicky at the motel was in a safe place,seeing that the people involved went way up the ladder, including the DA's office.

His ringing phone brought him out of his deep thoughts of what all this would mean to the station, "Brass."

"McKeen was found in his cell this morning, dead." The voice informed Brass.

"What the hell? You mean someone killed him in our custody?" Brass questioned, the statement had caught him by surprise.

"Yes sir, they just pronounced him at the hospital." the voice answered.

"Dammit,another problem for the station,a killer killed." Brass didn't hang on to the caller, instead he hung up and grabbed his jacket, another long day in the making.

**Desert Palm**

Nick's fever had decreased with the Tylenol, and now he sat on the edge of his bed attempting to eat what they called food. His sitter within just a hand's touch away, reading a magazine.

He glanced up at the clock, it was almost noon, visitation at the funeral home would start at 8pm, he had to find a way to escape the sitters, he had to find a way to get them out of the room.

The surgeon had come in to see his shoulder wound and had told him that they might need to go back in and see if any of the debris remained,He shook his head and winced at the thought of going back to surgery, it would be fine any other time but not now, not today, he had to get to the funeral home tonight and to a funeral tomorrow, it would have to wait.

A knock on the door got his attention, it was his friend Wendy, she had a huge smile on her face and she was carrying a package.

"That for me?" He asked, pointing to the colorful bag.

"If you have to ask maybe I should take it back." She smiled and came over and gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Nick blushed, the affections of his friend so needed right now."How was the wake?"

"It was nice, everybody who wasn't working came from the lab." Wendy walked over and took a seat opposite Nick's sitter, who was giving her a look of being irritated with her presence.

Wendy was not disturbed by the lady, instead she smiled and continued her visit with her friend."Listen, I have a special present in the bag but I want you to wait to open it until after I leave, a little something to remember my presence." Giving him a huge grin and glancing at the bag.

"Sure, no problem." Confused as to what Wendy was talking about.

"Hey listen, I really can only visit for a few minutes but I wanted to make sure you were doing okay." she was taking in his pale appearance and the huge bandage on his shoulder, his IV infusing several meds.

"I'm good." He lied, the ladybeast sitting behind listening to every word he said.

"Um, he's lying to you honey, but that's none of my business." Bertha spoke out loud to one one in particular.

Wendy couldn't help but to smile, Nick Stokes had met his match. "Listen I have to get back to the lab, I switched off with another tech so that I can attend the visitation at the funeral home tonight, I'll see you later." she gave him a wink and bent down to give him a gentle kiss on his cheek,"Be sure to look in the bag Nick." She whispered into his ear.

He nodded and then watched as his friend left the room.

He glanced over to Bertha who seemed a little jealous of the attention the beautiful brunette had given to him. He then looked down into the bag sitting on his bed, inside was a book, he pulled it out and opened it, a note falling into his lap, he opened it up and read:

_Nick_

_Please do not act surprised when Hodges comes into the room, just go along with the plan._

_Wendy_

Nick raised his eyebrows in confusion until a knock on the door, "I'm here to get Mr Stokes for an xray." Hodges announced as he pushed in a wheelchair.

Bertha stood and looked at her patient,"If you're taking him to radiology then I'll take a break. How long do you think it'll take?" she asked as she gathered up her purse.

Hodges made a wrinkled face to attempt a good answer,"Thirty minutes at least." He answered, feeling confident that it was a good answer.

"Let the nurse know when you're back in case I'm not back yet, I don't want you to get in trouble." Making it seem that she wouldn't be held responsible for any problems he might cause while she was gone. She then marched out, leaving Nick and Hodges alone in the room.

"She's a bit cranky." Hodges remarked at the woman's attitude.

Nick nodded and grabbed the note and book and placed it back into the bag, as Hodges gathered the rest of his things, he also took out Nick's IV and placed a gauze bandage. He then placed Nick, his clothing and his bag into the wheelchair and started out he door.

As they entered the busy hallway all was going good until Nick spotted his doctor talking to a nurse on the other end of the hallway, directly in front of the elevator.

"Hodges, we need to turn and go a different direction." Nick warned, seeing that she hadn't spotted him yet.

Hodges stopped and took a look around, then turned the wheelchair towards the opposite direction which led to a split hallway,"Which way Geranamo?" Hodges asked, not familiar with the lay-out of the hospital.

"Right. I think." Nick was focused on getting out when he heard a code blue called overhead.

"That can't be good." Hodges spoke out loud.

"Let's get out of here before we get bombarded with people in the hallway." Nick snapped.

Hodges pushed the chair down the hallway until he saw another elevator, he pushed Nick inside and waited for the door to close,the code team now running down the hallway.

"Where's Wendy parked?" Nick asked as the elevator dinged and they got out on the first floor.

"Admitting area." He pointed at the area, and pushed the wheelchair towards the exit.

Wendy was awaiting their arrival outside the hospital doors. They quickly got a gowned Nick inside her van, leaving the wheelchair sitting on the sidewalk, she sped away, she would take him to her apartment.

**Are you liking it still? Feedback is always very appreciated.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**Hey Guys and girls, I'm getting ready to go on vacation Friday...will that mean I take my laptop or not...it will be totally up to you! Let me know in the review section or just PM me!I will be gone for a week and a couple of days,so it won't be that long but I have dental appointments and new job interviews to attend...so let me know,I will write as much as possible in the next couple days.**

Nick slid his boxers and jeans on and then slid the gown off with Hodge's assistance.

"I've never helped dress a man before ."Hodges remarked at he slid Nick's shirt over his left arm then his head, being careful with Nick's left shoulder as he got his right arm into the sleeve.

Nick felt it all but he bit his lip and held in a moan, his pain medication wearing off and the painful movement being felt.

"Did you get him anything for pain?" Hodges asked Wendy from the back of the van, seeing that Nick was going to need something soon.

She reached down and retrieved a bottle of motrin and a bottle of Tylenol."I didn't know what to get but I do know you can alternate these two meds, hopefully it will at least take the edge off the pain and help his fever."

Hodges looked at the bottles, "I was expecting Vicodin or Morphine actually."

"I don't buy street drugs and you can't get the good stuff without a prescription." she countered feeling that Hodges wasn't doing much to help with the situation.

"Listen, it wasn't my idea to break him out of the hospital but after meeting Nick's room buddy I am glad I did, she was a real meanie."Hodges made a scrunched up face.

Nick looked over to Hodges and gave him a small grin, finally Hodges had said something worth listening to for once."I'll be fine, give me the motrin first and I'll take the Tylenol in a couple of hours."

Wendy reached over and retrieved a bottle of water from a small cooler, handing it to Hodges over the seat, keeping her eyes on the road.

Hodges opened the bottle and took out four of the pills and gave them to Nick with the water opened."I really am sorry that you got shot Nick, I know we don't always agree on things but you really stood up to McKeen and won."

He looked at the lab tech and shook his head,"Did I?" he swallowed the pills and took another sip of the water and shook his head,"I just hope that he goes to prison for life or gets the death penalty."

"Me too Nick." Wendy was listening to the conversation and wanted to let Nick that she felt the same way, the whole lab felt the same way, most of them wished that Nick had finished McKeen off,it would've saved the taxpayers money.

They pulled into the driveway of Wendy's two story home unaware that she had been followed.

**Desert Palm**

After the code blue Dr Roberts decided to check on her very sick patient, his blood cultures would take three days to culture but his fever was worrisome, he would probably need to go back to surgery whenever she got his fever regulated.

She stepped into the dark, quiet room,to find that her patient was missing, his IV pump disconnected, the sitter gone. A new wave of anger hit her, her sick patient was gone and she knew where to find him.

She hit the call light and called for Julia,she needed to find the sitter who had abandoned her patient, she needed to know who was responsible.

Julia walked into the room to find that her patient was missing,"Where's Mr Stokes? Where is Bertha?" she asked just as confused as to the whereabouts of her patient and his sitter.

"Those are actually good questions, I want some answers though. Where's the sitter?" The doctor's vocie was raised, loud enough to heard outside the room.

Bertha took that moment to enter the room, giving them a questioning look as s he took in the discarded IV lying on the bed, the liquid still being infused out onto the bed."What happened?" She asked wondering what had gone on since she had left.

"Where is Mr Stokes?" Julia asked, angry that her patient was missing.

"He went to get an xray, that's the last time I saw him." Bertha defended herself,seeing that it was going to be two on one,but she could handle herself any day.

"I didn't oder an xray. He tricked you." The doctor spoke her thoughts out loud, the anger evident in her tone.

"I'm not that easy to be tricked, there has to be a better explanation, I've never lost a patient before." Bertha defended herself.

"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything." Julia accused t he hateulf woman,shook her head and followed the very upset doctor out of the room leaving Bertha standing in complete shock, her only thought was when they found him he wouldn't be able to move unless he okay'd it with her first.

**LVPD Station**

Brass walked into the cell that had held McKeen, Ecklie now with his team processing the contents. His concern was that evidence could be destroyed, to hide the crime committed.

He looked up to see that Grissom had joined them, a look of amazement on his face,"What happened Jim?"

"I wish I knew, it looks like someone poisoned McKeen but the officer who delivered the food doesn't exist. Imagine that." Brass could not help his sarcasm, he was furious that McKeen was murdered on his watch,the station would be bombarded with media and internal affairs who were already on their way as he spoke.

"Listen, I know that our team can't touch any evidence but if you need us, we're willing to assist." He spoke for his team, including the lab techs.

"Thanks Gil, but I know your guys are grieving right now, I think Ecklie and his team can handle it for the time being." Jim patted his cousin on the back, "How's Nick by the way?"

Grissom looked up at Brass with a questioning look, "I guess he's fine. Sara and I are going to see him before we go to the funeral home tonight." His voice distant as if he were thinking about something else.

Brass was a little surprised by the answer,why would they not be more concerned for Nick, he was in really bad shape when he last saw him in the emergency room."Yeah, I'm sure he's fine." Knowing that Nick was definitely not fine, he would have to go see Nick for himself.

Brass's phone range and he reached to retrieve it from his pocket, "Brass.". Grissom already walking away,not wanting to disturb the conversation.

"This is Dr Roberts at Desert Palm, I think we have a problem." She had Brass's number from the emergency room,remembering how helpful he had ben that day.

"Is Nick okay?" Brass asked as he watched Grissom walk down the hallway,lost in his own world of hurt.

"I wish I knew, he's missing." she responded, hoping that this man could give her some answers.

"He's what?" Brass's voice was raised, wondering if the man who had dropped off the files had taken his friend from the hospital.

"I think he left with a little help, it looks as if he went on his own volition." she answered, needing to find out where the funeral home was located, she had a wake to attend.

**Okay, I hope you are liking it!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**I guess I'll be taking the old laptop with me...the feedback was great and I really want to thank each of you for the reviews, you are really paying attention...that is a good thing!Thank each and every one of you who have reviewed so far...I aim to please.**

**Wendy's House**

Wendy and Hodges assisted Nick out of the van,he moved really slow across the driveway and Hodges actually had to hold on to him as he climbed the few stairs into the garage entrance.

Nick was amazed, the house had a country flavor,something that his mother would love back in Texas. It was an older house that sat out away from the city,but it was beautifully decorated in southern charm, he never thought Wendy as a country girl.

"Hey, I bet you're tired." Wendy directed the men into the spare downstairs bedroom, she had fixed it up the night before when she 'd come up with her plan to spring Nick from the hospital, knowing that she would have to get him back after the funeral, a task she did not look forward too.

"Yeah, I'm good. Actually I'm better than I've been in a few days." His words were like a confession in a way, how close he had been to the edge, he had been in a very dark place.

Wendy glanced at her watch, it was time for her and Hodges to get back to work if they were to going to the funeral home for the second wake in two days. This wake was for Warrick's fellow officers to be able to pay tribute to their friend, his funeral would be an officer's funeral, a hero's funeral.

Hodges walked to the bathroom to wash his hands, he was a little germaphobic,he was also a little concerned with Nick's wound and the drainage, he would have to remind Wendy to get some more gauze bandages on her way home.

"You ready to go?" Hodges asked as hel finished drying his hands.

"Just a minute,"She wanted to make sure Nick was comfortable, placing a fresh bottle of cold water at the bedside and the tylenol and Motrin bottles with the lids off for his convenience.

"Thanks for helping me Wendy." His voice low and tired, the rescue had taken a lot out of him, he laid down on the bed and closed his eyes.

"Your welcome Nick Stokes, very welcome." she reached down and brushed away his sweaty hair from his face,hating to have to leave him to go back to work.

She walked back into the hallway to find Hodges waiting for her to return."Listen, tell Henry I won't be back, I'm going to stay here with Nick, I 'm afraid to leave him alone, he's too sick."

Hodges nodded but gave her a look, a I think you like Nick Stokes look,"I will cover for you."

She smiled and nodded, knowing that Hodges was back to his idiotic self,"Listen, I need you to come by before we go to the funeral home tonight and bring some bandages and a drainage cylinder." She instructed an irritating Hodges.

He couldn't help but to feel a twinge of jealousy, he had always had a thing for the brunette, she was the opposite of him, out-going , funny,smart and beautiful. "Sure." He started towards the garage door when he turned around suddenly, "Can I ride to the funeral home with you and Nick?"

She gave him a sweet smile,"Absolutely."

Hodges almost skipped out of the house and into his car, she hadn't seen him that excited since Grissom told him what a good job he had done on the miniature killer case. She closed the garage door and walked back into the bedroom to check on Nick.

**Nick's House**

Brass stood outside Nick's house waiting for the doctor to arrive,Nick's car had been brought back to the house by one of his fellow officers. He looked at the dark house and knew that Nick Stokes wasn't at home.

Doctor Karen Roberts drove up in her silver BMW, her brakes squealing to a sudden stop on the drive in front of Nick's house, slammed the driver's door as she exited the car,"Where the hell is he?" she asked worried and angry at her stubborn patient.

"Good question,but I can see why he's running." Brass had already come to the conclusion that the overbearing woman could make anybody want to run.

The older woman looked at Brass with a venomous stare."Nick Stokes has to be the most stubborn man I've ever met in all my years of being a doctor, Why don't you enlighten me as to why he feels he needs to jeopardize his life to go to a funeral."

"That might take a while. Do you have time?" Brass asked as he leaned against his car.

"Not a lot, but I will give you what I can." She motioned for him to follow her to her car,"Get in I know where we can have a quiet talk."

Brass reluctantly got into the speed demon's car,hoping that he wouldn't regret his decision,"Let's go."

She gave a quick look in the side mirror and took off, Brass's body pushed by the force of her quick and rapid start against the seat,"Start talking, I want to know more about Nick Stokes."

Brass gave a slight chuckle, Nick had always been a person that surprised him, his ability to bounce back so many times and do an excellent job of it had always surprised him,"Let's see, where do I start?"

**Gregg's Apartment**

Gregg was getting ready for the second wake in two days, the funeral would be at noon the next,he was feeling emotionally drained already,it was so hard to see Warrick's grandmother grieving for her pride and joy, his friend.

He wanted to leave early to that he could see Nick on the way, no way that he was getting out of the hospital for Warrick's wake or funeral with the infection he had developed in his wound and the constant eyeful watch from his sitters from Hell.

Gregg was about to grab his keys when his phone rang, he knew he was already running late but he grabbed the phone and held it to his ear,"Hello, Gregg."

"Your friend in in trouble, you need to go to him." The voice instructed, he's with Wendy." then the call went dead.

Gregg looked at the caller ID, 'anonymous' was on the screen,"Dammit! Nick's at the hospital, isn't he?" He asked himself oitloud as he quickly dialed the hospital number that was still on his scroll down on his cell phone.

"Desert Palm, may I help you?" the operator's voice answered.

"I need Nick Stokes room please." Gregg was nervous, the killer had been caught hadn't he?

"I'm sorry that patient is no longer here, may I help you with anything else?" she asked.

"What do you mean he's not there? He was a patient this morning and I know for a fact that he wasn't going anywhere fast." Gregg's voiced was raised at the frustration of knowing that Nick wasn't where he was suppose to be and that he could be in big trouble.

"I'm sorry but he's no longer a patient here at Desert Palm. Have a good evening." ,the call was ended by the upset operator.

Gregg thought about what he would do next, he opened his door and proceeded to his garage; he needed to find Wendy. He knew that Grissom and Catherine were probably on their way to the funeral home, as was Brass, but he needed to talk to someone about the whereabouts of his friend.

He got into his car and started the engine, opting to call Brass, he would probably know more than anybody else,everybody else was too busy with their grieving process to be able to take care of anybody but themselves right now.

Gregg dialed the number and waited for an answer.

**Freddie's Deli**

Brass sit across from Dr Karen Roberts who now had a dumbfounded look on her face, unable to believe all that her patient had endured over the years when Brass's cell phone ringing broke her from her thoughts.

"Brass." He answered, listening to the caller on the other end with intense concentration.

Dr Roberts knew that police work was never done, it was very much like her job, constant.

Brass quickly hung up his phone, "I need to use your car, I think we have a problem with Nick."

He dialed another number as they walked to her car,"This is Brass I need the address for Wendy Simms, she is a lab tech for the crime lab."

"His condition?" Dr Roberts asked thinking that Nick might have gotten worse.

"I don't know but from what I can discern his life might be in danger and it has nothing to do with his wound." They both ran and got into the car, awaiting the operator to give them the address, Brass taking out a piece of paper and jotting down the information. "Thanks.", ending the call."We need to go to 1127 Landry Drive."

"I know that location, I use to live a few miles down the road." she pulled out quickly, cutting off another car.

"Remind me later to write you a ticket for that move." Brass's dry humor evident, he gave her a look of just get us there in one piece then focused his attention on getting police back up to Wendy's house.

She glanced over and just gave him a smile, she was impressed for his concern for his officer and her patient.

**Wendy's House**

Wendy knew she had to be getting ready for the second wake and get Nick ready too, she decided to check on his bandage before she took a shower. She quietly walked into the room and looked down at her sleeping friend, as much as she didn't want to wake him she knew that she had to empty the drain and redress the wound, it would take some time. She reached down and felt his sweaty brow, he had broken his fever with the Tylenol but she knew it was probably just temporary.

She pulled back, deciding to allow him to sleep a little bit longer,he needed all the strength he could muster for the evening, it would be an emotional night.

Wendy walked into her room and turned on the shower and shut her door, she was unable to hear her phone ring outside in the living room.

The unlocked garage door opened, the two men walked inside, this would be easier than they thought.

**You know how I am...**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

Thank you...so very much for the great reviews, hopefully today I will be able to give everybody who responded a great thank you...I love you guys!!

_The unlocked garage door opened, the two men walked inside, this would be easier than they thought_.

They made their way into the kitchen, quietly moving across the white linoleum floor. They both pulled their guns,not actually knowing the lay out of the house, they would have to look for their assigned task.

They started up the stairs,it would be the logical place to look.

"Nicky, I need you to wake up, now buddy!" Warrick whispered into his friend's ear.

"Just a few more minutes honey." He mumbled underneath the sheet.

"We don't have a few minutes Nick, I need you to wake up now, Wendy's in trouble." His voice urgent and filled with panic.

Nick opened his eyes and looked around to see his friend,"It's you again, guess you want everybody to think I'm nuts." Feeling that his hallucinations were a sign of mental stress.

"Listen Nicky, there are some bad men in the house, they want to get rid of you, just like they wanted to get rid of me, you understand?" Warrick explained as he sat down on the bed.

"Okay, who are these men?" Nick asked as he made his way off the bed and slid on the loafers, he was still dressed from the trip to Wendy's home.

"Do I look like a mind reader Nick? You need to find a weapon and fast!" he shouted at Nick.

Nick started looking around, not much in the form of weapons in this room unless you count a hairbrush and a comb as weapons. Holding his shoulder close to him he continued to look around.

"Nicky ,look in the closet man, you need to hurry." Warrick was pointing towards the French doors, wanting Nick to take a look inside.

Nick opened the closet and turned on the small light, then he spotted it, a bat, "Well, this just might come in handy, I'm pretty good with a bat." Nick grabbed the bat and walked over to the door to see if he could see the men,"You're sure about this, I don't want to give Wendy a concussion."

"I'm a hundred percent actually,I just need you to knock the crap out of them when they walk in, is your arm up to it Nicky?" Warrick asked taking in the appearance of his friend, he had been through a lot in the past few days.

"Yeah, I can do it, no problem." Nick responded.

Nick quietly walked over to the door where he could hear two people whispering outside the door. He gripped the bat tightly when suddenly the sound of gunfire rang through the house.

"Wendy!" he yelled, an automatic response to the shots being fired outside the room.

**Dr Karen Roberts car**

"The house should be somewhere around here." Dr Roberts had her lights dimmed as to not bring any attention to her car, Brass on the radio asking when the back-up would arrive.

Dr Roberts turned to Brass and noted the serious look on his face,"Nick means a lot to you." It was a statement, she recalled how he spoke of the time that the stalker had held a gun on Nick and how he thought that Nick would never make it back,that he would fall apart, but he surprised everybody and was back to work the next week without a problem.

Brass nodded without saying a word, words were not needed.

They were both looking for the address, but the sun was setting and making it difficult to see the numbers on the houses.

Brass was feeling nervous, the file was proof that there many more involved with McKeen but why would they feel that it was necessary to get rid of Nick and Warrick,there had to be a connection. He would need to take the time to sift through all the names and crimes committed, right now he had his hands full with McKeen's murder and someone wanting to hurt or kill Nicky.

His attention was brought back to focus when Dr Roberts stopped and pointed to the house a couple of blocks down the street,"How close do you want to get?" The back-up had not arrived, probably having the same difficult time finding the address that they had experienced.

"Stay here, I'm going to move ahead. You need to stay out of the way,I don't want you catching a stray bullet." He instructed, not wanting a civilian to get into the line of fire.

She nodded, she understood the meaning of staying out of the way.

**Wendy's House**

Wendy heard the gunfire outside her bedroom door and Nick yell her name, she quickly dressed, barely drying herself and grabbing her handgun she kept by her bed. Her main thought was that Nick could be hurt or even worse,dead.

She eased her door open to see Nick standing in the hallway, her baseball bat in his hand.

"What the hell Nicky?" Wendy asked, scared for her friend and for herself as she stared at the two dead men lying on her carpet.

"Listen, whoever shot them is still around, we need to get the hell out of here.", he grabbed her arm and started for the kitchen, the garage door still standing open, Hodges standing inside the door,frightened at the sight of the bloody men in the hallway,"What happened?" He asked, the box of gauzed bandages and medical supplies still held in his shaking hands.

"Where's your car Hodges?" Nick asked as he continued out the door with a shocked Wendy in tow.

"In the driveway. What happened?" He asked as he followed Nick and Wendy outside.

"Good question but we don't have time to wait around for answers. We need to get the hell out of here." Nick ran to Hodges car and waited for the man to open the doors, which in his nervousness was difficult to do and hold the box of bandages.

Nick grabbed the gun from Wendy and Wendy grabbed the bandages from Hodges,enabling him to be able to open the car doors,"Where are we going?" he asked nervously as he got behind the wheel of his car and started the engine.

"I don't know but I'm beginning to think no place is safe." Nick remarked as he looked around for his friend Warrick as they pulled out of the driveway, he had saved their lives again.

**Carter's Funeral Home**

Catherine, Lindsey and her mother arrived at the funeral home,the parking lot already to full capacity, a valet parking cars in an adjoining church parking lot next door.

Grissom and Sara drove up behind them,they were quiet as they walked into the somber room and signed the guest book,feeling that they had been put through the wringer the past few days, the look of exhaustion evident in their appearance and the slump in their walk.

Catherine turned to Grissom,"Is Nick going to be able to come tonight?", feeling guilty for not being able to check up on her friend. She needed to talk to him, to tell him she was sorry for what she had said that night for what she had done.

Sara and Grissom looked at each other, they had assumed that Catherine was checking up on their friend, their own grief being all consuming for the past twenty-four hours, especially after hearing about McKeen's murder.

"Catherine, I really don't know, I guess we assumed that you or Gregg were taking care of Nicky. I've been busy today after I heard McKeen was murdered in his cell this morning." Grissom explained.

A look of shock crossed Catherine's face,"What are you talking about Gil?" She hadn't heard about the murder, her television and phone off the whole day as they prepared for the second wake.

"McKeen was murdered in his cell, possible poisoning. I thought Brass would've called you,I'm sorry Catherine." He had assumed so much but his own grief for his rock was very consuming right now and the guilt that he held for not making sure that Warrick was protected from Pritchard or the unknown mole at that time,and his guilt was eating him alive.

Gregg walked into the funeral home, seeing his co-workers gathered together at the entrance onto the mortuary area where Warrick's casket was sitting, the grandmother opting for a closed casket due to the wound to Warrick's neck.

"Have you guys seen Nick or Wendy?", he asked nervously.

"We were actually just asking each other the same question about Nick. Was he able to get out of the hospital?" Catherine was a concerned about Gregg's appearance, he seemed nervous and almost afraid of something.

"Nick went AMA from the hospital today, I assume he's with Wendy because I got an anonymous phone call that said they were in trouble, I called Brass, he's checking out Wendy's house, I'm checking out the funeral home." His words fast and his voice nervous.

"Gregg, slow down." Grissom was getting concerned. Had they missed something in assuming that McKeen was the only mole in the department? "Listen, what did the caller say?"

"They said that Nicky and Wendy were in trouble and that I needed to go to them." Gregg shook his head,"How did Wendy get involved?"

"I think I know, she was his way out of the hospital. That Nick." Smiling at how Nick always had a way with the women in the lab,he was like their best friend.

Sara nodded in agreement, in a way she knew that Nick would gravitate to Wendy after she left, she was like a sister to Nick, he would have leaned on her for emotional comfort,even cowboys needed someone to lean on every once in a while.

Grissom was worried now, Nick's life was in danger,probably the only reason Nick was so safe in the hospital was the fact that he had a twenty-four hour sitter, namely Bertha,who would've never allowed anybody to enter the room, he would definitely have to recommend her for a police position,she was good.

"Listen, I'm going to call Brass, I'll be back in a few minutes." Grissom took out his cellphone and walked outside, powering on the small device,he hit Brass's number.

Gregg and Catherine walked inside the over-crowded room,knowing that the night would get hectic,knowing that two of their own may be in danger again,they wanted to take the moment to respect their friend.

**Wendy's House**

Brass could hear the sirens as they entered the small street, he assumed the van in the garage was Wendy's, the garage door open to the house.

He waited for an officer to join him, not knowing what they might find inside, he motioned for the officer to back him up and he made a sweeping move to the entrance, spotting the two dead men in the hallway lying face down in their own blood,"Nick! Wendy!" He yelled out hoping that they were hidden somewhere.

He motioned for the officer to enter behind him, other officers had now joined Brass and were following behind him also, moving cautiously through the house.

Brass walked by the two men lying on the floor, checking to see if they had pulses but there were none present. He proceeded into the next room, it must have been where Nick had been, the bed had been disturbed, medicine bottles and gauzed packets sitting on the bedside table.

"We're clear!" An officer yelled from upstairs.

"Clear downstairs too!" Another officer announced out loud.

Brass wanted to throw something or somebody, where the hell was Wendy and Nick?

His thoughts were interrupted by his cell vibrating on his hip,"Brass." he answered recognizing the voice on the other end immediately.

**Hodges Car**

"Is there anybody following us?" Nick asked as he slumped down into the backseat.

"I don't see anybody,do you think they would follow us?" Hodges asked nervously as he drove along the dark and winding back road."And by the way Wendy, where does this road lead?"

"It will lead to the main highway eventually." she answered,worried what toll this event was having on Nick.

"We need to call Brass, he needs to know what's going on at your house." Nick;s voice low and sleepy,he then closed his eyes, the excitement of the event was finally causing him to crash.

Wendy looked at Hodges, "Do you have your cell?" she asked knowing that she and Nick didn't have theirs.

"No, I didn't think I would need it, I was just going to the funeral home. I think I left it at the lab." He replied as he guided the car carefully around another deep curve.

"Listen, we need to get him somewhere safe, I have a feeling those guys meant to kill us both, but especially Nick." Wendy whispered as she looked into the back seat at a now sleeping Nick.

"Where?" Hodges asked, feeling a little nervous about he answer.

Wendy knew what she had to do,knowing that missing the wake again tonight would have a significant effect on her friend, she had to make sure that he stayed safe, "We need to take him back to Desert Palm."

Hodges gave her an incredulous look but knew that it was for Nick's safety."Okay, but you'll be the one who tells him when he wakes up."

She nodded,knowing that she was doing the right thing, hoping that Nick would see that too.

**Okay, no cliffies this time...**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**I wanted to get things going a little.**

**And to those I can't send private messages to I just wanted to say a special thanks...you are the best.(wink)**

The car was quiet as they drove onto the main road, Wendy was worried that Nick needed his closure so she made her decision,"Hodges, we need to go the funeral home first."

"What about the dead bodies back at your house?" Hodges asked watching Nick in the back,he was sleeping soundly.

"I'll get one of the officers to call Brass or we might see Brass,but we need to let Nick say good-bye to his friend, because I have a feeling that he won't be going to the funeral when we take him back to the hospital." She felt bad for Nick but her efforts had failed, he was in too much danger and she needed assistance.

Hodges nodded in agreement, protecting Nick was going to take more than just the two of them. He put on his signal and made the turn, he would take Nick to the funeral home to say good-bye to his friend.

**Carter's Funeral Home**

Grissom walked into the funeral home to find his friends, Brass had informed him of the dead bodies at Wendy's house. Also that Nick and Wendy were missing but her van was still in the garage so a search of the neighborhood was taking place.

He walked up to Sara and whispered in her ear, an audible gasp could be heard, he them proceeded over to Gregg and Catherine motioning them over to a corner,"Nick and Wendy are missing. Evidently they had a couple of visitors tonight at Wendy's home,two men were found dead in her house."

"Who were the men?" Catherine asked, afraid that Nick and Wendy had met a similar fate.

"Brass has called in the lab to process but he didn't recognize them as fellow officers, possibly Gedda's thugs. I need to go and assist, this has been a busy day for the crime lab and right now they're still processing the cell evidence." He had been remiss in not checking on his charge, he really had to make sure the living were doing okay because unfortunately he could not help the dead. He could finish grieving later, right now he needed to help his friend.

Catherine kissed Lindsey and her mother and gave her mom the car keys. "I need to help find Nicky." she whispered into Lindsey's ear, Lindsey nodded, she would stay with her grandmother and grieve.

Grissom and Catherine headed out the door, they needed to go to Wendy's house. They needed to find Nick.

Sara watched as Grissom and Catherine walked out of the funeral home, feeling bad that she was no longer a part of the team that she had loved so much. What had she done?

**Hodge's car**

"Listen Wendy I was thinking, if they knew that Nick was not at the hospital anymore then they had to follow us to your house. I'm just saying, is this really a good idea having Nick out in public or even you or me right now? We helped to get Nick out of the hospital, they were watching and I have a feeling it wouldn't bother them one bit to kill you or me or Nick." Hodges maintained his eyes on the road, he wanted to make his point.

"Actually I was thinking the same thing, but we will have the team there to assist us,I think it might be better." she looked over and smiled a very nervous smile."It's what we have to do Hodges.".

He nodded and gave her a groan, not wanting to get Nick in more danger than he was already in or even possibly getting them all killed, a thought he didn't like at all.

Nick took that moment to awaken and look out the window,"Where are we going?" he asked rubbing his shoulder to ease the pain ,careful not to touch the bandage that needed to be changed.

"We're going to the funeral home, and I don't even have my make-up on or my hair done, you owe me so big time Nick Stokes." she turned and gave her friend a smile.

"Yeah, I do." he gave her his famous Texan grin, his southern accent more evident since he had been shot, probably due to him not feeling well.

"How are you feeling?" she asked concerned that the commotion from earlier would cause his condition to worsen.

"Actually I feel better, my arm hurts but the fever has not returned and I think I lost that drainage thingie back at your house when we were running out to the car." he noticed the small tube was gone but that the dressing needed to be changed before he went to the funeral home.

"That might not be a good thing Nick, the doctor will want to put it back in and with a few more tubes added, after what we pulled." Hodges remarked as looked up in the mirror to check on his charge.

"I'm not going back, I think I've endangered enough people for one day." He didn't finish his sentence, after the funeral home tonight he wanted to go it alone, he would have to be careful, he needed to get back to his house to retrieve some things, he might need to go home to Texas for a couple of weeks until things settled down.

Wendy and Hodges looked at each other knowing that Nick was about to do something stupid.

**Wendy's House**

David and Doc Robbins entered the hallway where the dead bodies lay, David started to take liver temperatures on the victims, then he allowed Brass to reach down and look for identification, but he found none.

"Time of death less than an hour ago,probable cause of death is a gunshot wound to the head, second victim the same." David was talking out loud to allow both Brass and Doc Robbins to hear.

Doc Robbins was staring at the victims,they looked familiar,like he should know them."Jim, does either of these guys look familiar to you? I mean I know they have blood all over them but it's like I should know them from somewhere."

Brass walked back over to the victims and bent down so that he would be able to see their faces, he had an uncanny knack for recognizing faces and connect them with names, he felt as he should know these men too.

"Let's print them before we leave the scene, I'm sure Ecklie and his exhausted team will be here soon." Brass suggested,wanting to make sure no evidence was lost.

"No problem Jim. Have they found Nick or Wendy yet?" DOC Robbins asked, sensing that this might be a bad sign,two dead bodies,two missing people, the odds were against them.

"All we found was Nick's drainage tube out in the garage. That's not a good sign." Brass answered as he walked back out of the house worried about he man whom he considered his son.

**Carter's Funeral home**

Hodges drove up to the funeral home, it was late, almost everybody had left. Wendy had made Hodges pull over at a mall and she had purchased herself an outfit to wear to the funeral home and a pair of shoes since she had to run out so quick from her home.

She has also purchased Nick a shirt, a tie, a nice pair of slacks, a jacket and some toiletries, she had combed his hair and assisted him in changing his clothes in the unisex bathroom, so that Wendy could change his dressing,they were the life of the bathroom.

They exited the car and walked into the funeral home, the area where the book was signed was almost empty now, the crowds were gone, just a few lingered around,all of the lab personnel had already left.

"You okay Nick?" Wendy asked as she signed the book for her and Nick, he seemed to be preoccupied, looking into the now empty room, Warrick's casket draped in an American flag, a picture sat in front of the casket of his friend.

"I just need to be alone with my friend." His voice quiet and sad, he walked slowly into the room and closed the door, he needed this time to say goodbye.

Wendy and Hodges needed to call Brass,the two dead men needed to be dealt with in her house and it would also allow Nick his time with Warrick to grieve.

Nick stood in the now empty room, his own weakness evident from the past few days. He walked up and dropped his head in reverence,then placed his hand on the casket he needed that connection with his friend.

"Whatcha doing Nicky? I'm not in there." Warrick spoke to his friend, sitting behind him in a chair,looking very comfortable.

"You again, can't you see that I'm trying to show you respect." Nick mumbled under his breath, tears causing him to choke up.

"Really Nick, I'm not in there,open up the casket and take a look for yourself, they got to me, they wanted rid of the only evidence that would lead me back to my killer." He stood and walked over to Nick's back and laid a gentle hand on his right shoulder,"I wrote the name of the killer on my hand, David and Doc missed it because they didn't look, I scratched it into my skin with my fingernail."

"Warrick we know who killed you, McKeen. Why would they take your body?" Nick asked, getting frustrated with his make believe friend, hallucination, whatever the hell it was.

"McKeen may have pulled the trigger but he was just doing the job he was instructed to do,the answer lies with me, with my body, I figured it out Nick, now you have to figure it out,because it involves you too." Warrick walked away,"I'm not in the casket Nicky."

Nick shook his head,he just wanted to grieve, now he just had to find out, he needed to know the truth. He gently removed the flag and placed it beside the casket, and unlocked the lid and just as he started to lift it he heard a voice behind him.

"Nick, what are you doing?" Hodges asked as he watched Nick continue to lift the lid,the body was missing,Warrick was gone, the look on Nick's face was more than shock, there was anger evident, a desire to hurt the man who had done this hidious thing to his best friend.

"Where is he Hodges?" Nick asked as he turned around to see a stunned look on Hodges face.

"I don't know Nick." He replied, watching Nick's face grow even more angry.

"I think you do know, I think that you know more than people give your credit for David Hodges, or is it even David Hodges?" Nick 's newly developed rage evident as he slammed the lid down on the empty coffin, the motion causing a searing pain in his shoulder but he ignored it, it had to be ignored for the moment so he could deal with the man who was possibly responsible for his friend's death.

"Listen, it's not what you think Nick, I swear ,I'm the good guy." Hodges continued backing up towards the entrance to the room.

"Good guys don't fake their names and put on a charade, good guys don't fake sympathy for a good man or hide dead bodies!" Nick's anger was coming to a boil,he pulled Wendy's gun out of the back of his pants,it had been hidden by his jacket,and he aimed it at Hodges head."Now, tell me who you really are because I'm not having a very good moment here and I just might have a spasm in this shoulder and shoot you dead!"

Wendy walked in, hearing the commotion outside in the hallway,"Nick, what's wrong? What are you doing?" She asked, then suddenly being pulled in front of Hodges, making her a shield as he continued to ease to the now opened door.

**Yeah, I need a cup of coffee now...**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**Carter's Funeral Home**

"Nick, please, wait a minute, I'm not a killer,I promise!" Hodges was getting nervous, he knew that Nick could shoot him dead and not even think twice about it given his state of mind,"Wendy, I think he's lost his mind."

"Nick, why are you pointing a gun on Hodges, I mean he is Hodges." Shrugging her shoulders. She then turned her head and smiled,"No insult intended Hodges."

"None taken." Hodges replied.

"But it would make sense,you were there at the house, nobody else was there." Nick lowered his weapon,maybe he was jumping the gun. He couldn't understand why somebody would steal a body, why somebody would go to all this trouble.

"Hodges, go in the other room, I need to talk to Nick." Wendy instructed, she was worried about Nick, about his mental well being.

Hodges hurriedly left the room,"Why would you think Hodges would have anything to do with this Nick?" Wendy walked over and took the gun from her friend, placing the safety on the gun then handing it back to him.

Nick relaxed and placed the gun back into the back of his pants, feeling that the world had just stopped spinning, "It just seemed like the right thing to do." Nick replied, feeling a little embarrassed, but still angry at what had happened to his friend, he needed to apologize to the nervous little lab tech but if not Hodges, then who, who had killed the two men, who made sure that they weren't harmed by the two men?

"Hodges is definitely a bona fide coward Nick, afraid of most anything that goes bump in the night, trust me I work with him at night, it's real, nobody could fake that,trust me." Wendy took Nick's hand and pulled him into a hug,"What made you so upset?", noticing for the first time that the flag had been removed from the coffin.

"He's not in the coffin." Nick whispered in her ear, his voice filled with emotion.

"What?" Nick let go of the embrace and Wendy walked over to the casket, lifting the heavy lid, the body was gone,"How did you know?"

Nick chuckled,"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, really." he sat down in a chair and rubbed his hands through his hair,he had to figure this out,no more jumping to conclusions.

Wendy closed the casket back and took the flag and draped it back over the coffin,leaving everything as they found it,"We need to get out of here Nick. I talked to Brass,he was relieved that we were still alive but he has your doctor in tow and she really wants to take a look at you and that shoulder." she walked over and took Nick's hand,"Let me take care of my friend Nick." Giving him a small smile.

"We need to process the casket, it may have the clues we need to find the real killer. We need to tell Grissom." Nick was reluctant to leave his new crime scene, he wished inwardly that they had a cellphone,then they could call Grissom.

Wendy gave Nick a confused look, what had he meant by the real killer,was her friend losing his mind? McKeen had killed Warrick.

"There's a phone out in the lobby,we'll call him from there, then you'll see Dr Roberts."Giving him a small tug on his arm, he reluctantly stood and followed her out of the room.

When they reached the hallway Hodges had his back to them talking on a cellphone,but quickly stopped when he saw Nick and Wendy enter the room, abruptly ending the conversation. "I guess I didn't leave it at the lab, it was in my car."

"We need it David, we need to call Grissom, we need to process the casket." Wendy reached for the cellphone.

"I'll call Grissom, why don't you take Nick to the car." Hodges scrolled down to his boss's number and hit the green button to send.

Wendy hesitated until she knew Grissom was on the line, she felt something odd about the little man all of a sudden,he was acting a little weird, even for Hodges.

"What do you want Hodges, I'm at a crime scene." Grissom seemed more agitated than usual.

"Listen, we have Nick here at the funeral home." Hodges was attempting to tell him what was happening.

"Let me talk to him." Grissom's tone was that of someone who was tired and cranky, cutting off his lab tech.

Hodges handed the phone to Nick who took it reluctantly,"Nick."

"Are you okay Nick?" Grissom asked, knowing that Nick had lost the drainage tube from his wound, Nick's doctor now standing at his side, wanting a piece of her patient when he was through.

"I'm fine." he hesitated for a second in an attempt to gather his emotions, then continued," I opened the casket, Warrick's body 's gone."

"What?" Grissom was stunned at the news,"What do you mean Nicky? Gone, gone where?"

"He's not in the casket,he's gone." Nick was attempting to not get so angry again at the new development but he continued to watch Hodges out of the corner of his eye, he seemed nervous, more than usual.

"We'll be right there Nick, do not leave!" He ended the call and walked over to Wendy

"He wants us to stay here until they arrive." Nick was keeping a watchful eye on Hodges.

Wendy nodded, but Hodges wasn't happy about the wait,"Listen, I'll be back in a few minutes, I need a cup of coffee." he reached for his phone, collected it, then disappeared out the door.

Wendy watched as Hodges left,"You might have been right Nick, something is quite strange about Hodges."

Nick gave her a small smile,"I've been saying that for a long time."

**Wendy's House (Outside)**

Grissom ended the call and looked over at Brass, "We have a new crime scene Jim."

"Another one?" he asked, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Warrick's body is missing, it's not in the casket." Grissom replied, Catherine now at Grissom's side taking in the new information.

"What do you mean Gil? Warrick is missing?" Catherine had a devastated look on her face,"What do you mean Gil?" she felt a slight bit of panic rising inside her, a new anger forming for what had happened to her friend Warrick.

"I don't have all the details but according to Nick the body is missing." Grissom was already walking towards his car, Brass and Catherine following.

The doctor also was keeping up, she needed to see her patient, she needed to make sure he was doing okay.

**Wendy's House (Inside)**

Gregg was walking around the house looking for clues as to what had happened, taking in the still wet shower in the bedroom he assumed Wendy was taking a shower probably getting ready for the evening wake when the men arrived.

She probably had left the garage door undone in her attempt to get Nicky inside.

He proceeded to the next downstairs bedroom, finding a red stain on the sheet, he made the assumption that it had to be Nick's, his wound had made the stain, the medicine bottles on the nightstand telling him that Nick was probably in some pain.

The closet door was open, the light was on, possibly where Nick had retrieved a weapon, the bat found in the driveway that had been discarded, the prints had come back for Nick and Wendy.

He walked out into the hallway, both men had been been shot in the head, at a distant range, but the shooter had to be a good shot, only two bullets fired. The bullet trajectory showed that the kill shots were taken from the kitchen. Somebody with a steady hand to get the kind of shot with the accuracy those two bullets had,straight forward,between the eyes.

If Wendy was in the shower and Nick was still in the bedroom holding the bat ,then who killed the two men, the only other finger print that he had lifted was Hodges,how was he involved in the case or was he involved with Wendy? Gregg shook that thought from his head, that was bad.

He continued through the house,the killer could have been wearing gloves but he would have been expecting the two men were there or was he here on other business and got interrupted by the two men? He looked at the blood spatter on the wall, he was missing something, he had that little feeling,like when you lose something and can't remember where it is.

Gregg walked back into the kitchen, he looked down on the floor, he then turned and faced the hallway, the killer would have been standing in the doorway.

"Gregg!" A voice shouted from outside.

Gregg jumped, the person calling him catching him in deep thought, he stuck his head out the door to see who had yelled,"Yes!" he replied, wanting to get back to the crime scene.

"We have a new crime scene,Warrick's body is missing." Brass had come back to get the last member of the team,he felt that they should all be together right now.

"What?" He asked feeling that if it could go wrong, then it would, their world right now was falling apart.

"I don't have all the details but it looks as if Warrick's body was not in the casket." Brass explained as he and Gregg made their way to the car, Brass getting into Dr Roberts car and the team into Grissom's SUV.

**Carter's funeral Home**

"Anybody want some coffee?" Hodges had returned, offering a cup to Nick first.

"Sorry about earlier, I just went off at the first person I saw, I shouldn't have done that." Nick took the offered coffee.

"No problem, actually if felt good that you would want to suspect me, it was kind of exciting." Hodges admitted to Nick and handed Wendy her cup then took a seat beside Nick.

Nick took a sip of the coffee when he heard what sounded like a stampeded behind him, he turned to find Grissom,Gregg, Catherine and Brass followed by a very angry doctor heading up the rear.

Grissom walked up to the casket and removed the drape again with gloved hands,he lifted the lid and looked inside, the body of his rock was missing,he wanted to know why."Nick,how did you know?"

Nick looked up at his boss,"If I told you the truth you would lock me up in a mental ward, so let's just go with I had a gut feeling."

Grissom gave him a puzzled look, what had he meant by his statement but he motioned for the team to start processing, Catherine wanted to talk to Nick alone but knew it would have to wait, she just gave him a small hug as she passed him to go to the empty casket.

Gregg looked over at his friend, he actually looked better than he thought he would, the jacket covering up his bandage underneath his shirt.

Dr Roberts looked at Nick and gave him a smile, "When you're done here I would like to take a look at that wound." Knowing that he was committed to his friend and to what he loved, Brass had convinced her that Nick was actually a really nice guy if she would take the time to know him.

He nodded, he would comply but after he was finished he had to go the crime lab, he needed to look at cases he and Warrick had worked,he needed a clue, something to lead him to the man who had killed his friend and wanted to kill him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**Sorry guys...I was having a great time with my children,I have five of them,but here I go with chapter 18...hope you enjoy.**

**Carter's Funeral Home**

He nodded, he would comply but after he was finished he had to go the crime lab, he needed to look at cases he and Warrick had worked,he needed a clue, something to lead him to the man who had killed his friend and wanted to kill him.

After a while Grissom walked over to a very quiet Nicky. He seemed to be be asleep, Dr Roberts sitting beside him,watching over her patient.

"How's he doing?" Grissom asked, looking down at his watch, another day about to start,wondering what he was going to tell Warrick's grandmother about the missing body.

"He's exhausted and he needs to be in a hospital, but he's refusing,which doesn't really surprise me. I was a little harsh on him last time." Dr Roberts watched as Nick dozed next to her, his head resting against the side of the pew.

Grissom's team had processed the casket but it had been wiped clean of prints and no clues were left to process. They had talked to everybody who had come in contact with the casket,nobody knew anything. The funeral director assured them that the body had been present upon its return to the funeral home after the wake at Hattie's Rutherford's.

"You probably saved his life by placing a sitter in his room, the person who broke into Wendy's home meant to harm Nick, I'm fairly sure of it." Grissom was assuring the woman,wanting her to know that she had done the right thing with his stubborn CSI,feeling bad that he hadn't paid attention to his friend's state of well-being, too consumed in his own pain.

"What do you suggest?" she asked wanting a positive direction to go in with her patient,her concern for the wound still present, the red flush in Nick's cheeks evidence that the fever had returned.

"Let me talk to him alone for a few minutes." Grissom gave her a look of understanding,he would try to convince Nick to go back to the hospital.

She nodded, then stood to leave,"Tell him I won't be so hard on him this time, but his wound needs addressing,it's infected."

Grissom smiled and gave her a look of understanding, then watched as the doctor walked away, concern etched on her face.

"Nick, are you awake?" Grissom asked watching his friend fidget around in his seat,knowing that he had probably heard the entire conversation.

"Yeah but I'm not going back to that sick place. Bertha can sit with some other poor soul and granny can get someone else to piss in a jar. I'm not going back Grissom." his eyelids were barely able to open, he looked so tired and he was definitely a very sick man.

"You can't come back to work without a doctor's note Nick, it's policy." He gave his CSI a look of compassion,"Maybe we can get you a private suite and we could possibly take turns being there for you." Grissom offered, knowing that nobody wanted to leave Nick alone again.

"I have work to do Grissom, my friend's body is missing." Nick's voice was almost a whisper now, the exhaustion and fever competing for their toll on his body.

"Nick, we can't touch this case and you know it, Ecklie and internal affairs would be all over you,probably suspend you even, how would that help Warrick?" Grissom looked around the room, seeing that Ecklie's team had finally arrived. They had just processed Wendy's house.

"Speaking of the devil." Nick turned to see the assistant director standing over him and Grissom.

"Stokes, you need to get to a hospital or do I need to carry you there myself?" A very upset Ecklie asked the CSI.

Nick stood to leave, feeling if he didn't get out of there soon he might just end up without a job,right now he didn't know who he could trust but one thing was for sure,he had never trusted this man.

"Nick, where are you going?" Grissom asked watching an unsteady Nick walk down the isle to the door.

"Home." His one word response go the attention of the whole room, now all eyes were starring at him as if he were a ghost.

"I can't let you do that son." Brass's voice was loud and firm,causing Nick to freeze in his tracks.

"Either I can walk home or I can get a cab, but I am not going back to that hospital. Do I make myself clear?" He asked as his feet slipped out from underneath him and he fell to the floor, suddenly he was surrounded by his concerned friends.

**Desert Palm Hospital**

"Nick, you okay?" Brass asked as he stood above Nick's head, his eyes finally opening.

He felt as if he had been hit by a baseball bat and as he took in his surroundings he found himself back at the very place that he did not want to be, but one thing was missing, the sitter was nowhere in sight.

"How long?" he asked wondering how long he had been in the hospital.

"A couple of days, the doctor says you're doing much better though." Brass smiled down at his friend.

"Good, I can go home then." He attempted to raise off the bed but he was too weak, his shoulder had a new pain that was felt as if someone was branding him with an iron.

"You're as stubborn as they get Nicky." Brass walked around and took a seat beside his friend,"They had to go back in that shoulder of yours and clean it out, it had a bad infection. Evidently the Tylenol and Motrin kept your fever down for all that time the other night, it's a wonder you weren't hallucinating.

Nick thought about that comment, seeing Warrick at the funeral home,hearing him talk to him as if he were still alive. Was he losing his mind or was this a result of his fever? Must be the first because he heard and saw Warrick before he got shot, he was definitely losing his mind.

"They had the funeral,Warrick's grandmother just wanted to allow her son's memory to rest. I don't blame her though, it's been a rough week for everybody." Brass felt as if Nick should know,sorry that he had missed his best friend's funeral.

"What about McKeen? Was he charged with Warrick's murder?" Nick wanted to know what was going on with the case.

Brass bit his bottom lip, evidently nobody told him that McKeen had been murdered,"McKeen is dead, according to Doc Robbins report, he was poisoned with cyanide."

Nick really wasn't surprised, Warrick had told him that McKeen had pulled the trigger but somebody else was calling the shots, the name was etched in Warrick's hand. He needed to find Warrick's body or get the files and find out for himself what Warrick had really died for and why.

"I need your help Jim." Nick knew he couldn't do it alone, he needed someone he could trust.

"What Nicky?" Curious as to what Nick was thinking, knowing that he was having a difficult time with the loss of his friend.

"I need you to get some files for me." Nick knew that he was about to get yelled at but he was willing to take that chance with Jim.

"Can you tell me why Nicky?" Brass asked, wanting to know what Nick was thinking, maybe it would give him a clue as to where to start as to who had killed McKeen.

"I believe there's someone above McKeen who is calling the shots, that somehow this goes back to a case Warrick and I worked. I just need to see the files, I think I could figure it out if I could see them for myself." his voice calm, he knew he had to show Jim that he was feeling better and wanting to assist with the investigation instead of going alone.

Brass stood and walked across the room, silence filled the small space,"Nicky, in a couple of days I will bring you the files, first you need to attempt to get better."

"But, I need them now." Nick was forgetting cool and calm but instead he felt himself getting mad about having to wait.

" Nicky, I said in a couple of days and we can go over them together." he paused to look at his defeated friend,"How far back?"

Nick nodded in agreement,"Let's go back to when Warrick and I first started working together,nine years."

"I'll need a truck to carry that many. Guess I'll rent a uhaul." Brass shrugged his shoulders in defeat, he would appease his friend but he felt it was a waste of time.

"Take them to my house, I have a feeling I'll have plenty of time to look over them, my doctor doesn't seem the type to allow me back to work too soon, she is a bit overprotective.

Brass smiled, Karen did have a way about her,He glanced down at his watch," Hey,I have a lunch date to get to, so I'll see you later." Brass picked up his discarded jacket off the chair and looked over to Nick who seemed to be lost in deep thought."Don't leave! I would hate to have to find your ass again,because next time I will personally tie it down to that bed and have Bertha lie down with you. Understand?"

Nick's eyes got big and he then smiled,"Understood."

"Good. I need to go but one of your team members will be here any minute." Brass started to walk out of the room but was stopped by Nick's voice.

"Tell my doctor I said hey." Nick gave his friend a smile.

"Tell her yourself." he smiled as Karen entered the room with Nick's chart.

"Tell me what?" she asked as she walked over to Nick's bed and pulled down the gown to see the bandage.

"Nothing." Nick felt for sure that Brass and the doctor were acting very friendly at the funeral home, but maybe he was wrong.

"Karen, I'll meet you at the elevator." Brass gave Nick a wink and exited the room pulling the door closed behind him.

"He's a nice guy." Dr Roberts walked over to the sink and washed her hands then donned a pair of gloves, walking back over and tugging loose the paper tape around the bandage, her patient showing no signs of it bothering him as she tugged the bandage away from the wound.

"Sometimes." Nick was referring to his friend not getting the files he wanted sooner.

Dr Roberts gave her grumpy patient glance as she examined the wound. The new drain was still filled with serous pink drainage but the wound was looking better."How are you feeling?"

"Drugged." he gave her a look, still angry that he had missed Warrick's funeral but he knew that his friend was not in the box, it really didn't matter anyways.

She left the bandage off and walked over to a cabinet filled with bottles and packages,taking out a new package of 4x4's and a bottle of saline. She walked back over and tore open the package and opened the sterile saline, applying the saline to the gauze and gently cleaning the wound.

"Listen, I know you missed your friend's funeral but you were a very sick man for a couple of days and I had to drug you to keep you from doing something else that could be detrimental to your health." she took the fresh bandage and placed it over the wound,"I was doing what I thought was in your best interest, from what I hear you tend to overdo things."

"You need to stop talking to Brass." he could not help but yawn a big yawn, he was still feeling the sedating effects of the drugs, his eyes were still hard to keep open, all he wanted to do was go back to sleep.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked as she finished dressing the wound.

"Yeah,a discharge." he mumbled as he reluctantly closed his eyes and drifted back off to sleep.

Dr Roberts smiled, he wouldn't be going anywhere for a few days, at least that was her plan. She would wait to to see if anybody else was willing to break the rules for her rouge cowboy patient. That southern drawl was definitely a winning quality,no wonder women were willing to break him out, she couldn't help but to smile. She knew she had a date to keep herself, with a fine looking captain.

As Dr Roberts started out the door, Catherine Willows walked inside,"Is he doing okay?" she asked the physician as they passed.

"He just fell asleep, he's still being sedated to keep him calm and for him to get some much needed rest. Please try to keep your visit short." Dr Richards instructed knowing that her patient might not awaken for a while.

Catherine acknowledged her instructions with a grin then walked over and took a seat beside Nick, lifting his hand into hers, she really needed to apologize. She inwardly hoped that she hadn't caused irreparable damage to their once close relationship with her actions.

She watched as he slept, his eyes darting back and forth, she knew that Nick was going to have problems with missing the wakes and funeral. Warrick and Nick were like brothers but he would have to understand,he needed to be in the hospital, he had some healing to do, inside and out.

**Grissom's Condo**

"Gil, have you seen my shampoo?" Sara asked as she came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her and her hair dripping water.

"Yeah, I gave Hank a bath in it, he loves the smell of lavender." Grissom responded as he was engrossed in feeding his bugs.

"Tell Hank to buy his own, I need mine." She walked over and grabbed the bottle and was about to turn to return to the bathroom when two hands snaked around her and pulled away her towel.

"You in a hurry to finish that bath?" he whispered seductively into her ear.

"Ummm, is that an offer?" she turned and took his lips into hers,passion and the stress of the past few days took over. Grissom picked her up and carried her into the bedroom,lying her down on his bed,giving her small kisses over her body,Sara lying still enjoying the moment, unable to speak due to the incredible way he was taking control and giving her the passion she had longed for over the past few months.

Grissom stopped and looked at her, tears streaming down her face, thinking that she was still grieving her friend he started to get up,"Where are you going?" she asked, wanting him to continue.

"I don't want to make you sad, I would never want to make you sad." he sat down beside her taking in her beauty.

"I'm definitely not sad, I'm actually very happy. I'm happy that you're here with me, that we can make love again, that you make me so very happy. That's why I'm crying." she said it softly, quietly. She wanted him to continue, to feel his touch, to hear his soft voice in her ear, she had missed this very much, she had missed him.

He smiled and continued by taking off his shirt and lying down beside her. He took her into his arms,it felt wonderful, it felt right, he had missed her so much and now they were together, even if it was for a short duration. The shampoo bottle fell to the floor, but nobody cared. Except for Hank.

**Another needed chapter,No Nick didn't get to either wake or the funeral service (even though there was no body to bury)...I sure hope that doesn't effect Nick even more.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**Desert Palm**

Nick awakened again,feeling much better this time,the sedative had been stopped, allowing him to be more alert and not feeling as weak.

He looked around but didn't spot anybody in the room, it was a relief in a way, not having to put up a false front when he really didn't feel like it, he just wanted to go home.

He attempted to sit up but the pain in his shoulder prevented that movement so he hit the call light, he wanted to sit in a chair,he wanted to start getting better so he could go home, he had work to do and he needed to get to it,finding out who was responsible for Warrick's death was a priority, not just for himself but for Warrick's grandmother.

Julia came to the room to respond to his light,"Hey Mr Stokes how are you feeling?" she asked as she assessed his wound and placed a hand to his warm skin."You still have a fever,I may need to call Dr Roberts, we really thought your fever would have improved by now."

"I feel fine though, actually better. I just want to sit up for a while." He just wanted to get out the bed before he started getting bedsores, his ass was really getting sore from lying in bed.

"That's a good idea, let me get your slippers." the closet was closed but she opened it,found his duffel bag and looked inside, finding what she was looking for quickly."Here they are." she announced as she watched her patient out of the corner of her eye, knowing that he might take any opportunity to attempt to leave again,he was not ready to leave from a medical standpoint and she was feeling very protective of this man for some reason.

He grabbed the siderails and pulled himself up to a sitting position, gritting his teeth through the pain. He had a lot to do and lying down in the bed wasn't helping, he nodded to Julia who had retrieved his slippers and allowed her to place them on his feet and then she assisted him to a standing position, he felt weak and slightly dizzy, the IV in his hand pinched as he went to grab the rail to protect himself from falling to the floor.

"Maybe we should of waited for the physical therapist." Julia was worried that she might not get her patient to the chair, he was weaker than she had thought.

What felt like it took forever ,though it was just a few minutes,he finally was sitting in a chair."Thanks." Finally he felt as if he was alive again,lying in the bed was not helping his growing pain in his arm,sitting up was definitely better.

"A physical therapist will be coming to work with your arm, the doctor doesn't want it to get stiff. I'll give you something for pain before they come." Julia was getting his bed changed and the tech was preparing him a bath when an older gentleman entered the room.

"Hi, my name is Jonathan, I will be your therapist, are you ready to get to work on that shoulder?" he asked as he placed his bag on the bedside table.

Nick looked over at Julia who was giving the therapist a look of confusion,"I'm sorry are you new here, I don't recognize you." feeling a little suspicious of the man,thinking he was another one of her patient's friends.

"Yeah, I'm new, I was just hired this week actually. My name is Jonathan Lowe." He held out his hand to shake Julia's.

"Sorry, I didn't see your name badge. By the way, where is your badge?" she asked, still thinking that the man was a friend of her patient's and this was some sort of ploy to escape the facility again.

The man gave her a hard glare,"I don't have it yet but if you have a problem, then maybe we should call my boss, she'll verify who I am and that my badge won't be ready until next week." he was getting a little upset that the nurse was questioning him so much.

"I think I will,it's policy to wear a badge at this facility." Julia was not ready to give in or convinced that the man was an actual employee.

Jonathan picked up his bag and stormed out the door. Nick almost laughed but thought better of it, he didn't want to tick off anybody else."I really didn't know him, he must of been a real therapist."

Julia gave him a look of frustration,"Hey, if you hadn't pulled that disappearing act before I wouldn't be so suspicious of everybody." she opened the closed door and left, the tech was smiling, she had already experienced her patient too and she wouldn't put it past him to try to leave again.

"I'm innocent this time." Nick muttered under his breath.

"I believe you Mr Stokes, the last time a beautiful woman aided you in your escape, I didn't see one this time but one beautiful woman did come earlier today and that was Ms Willows." the tech continued working on his bath preparations as she talked.

That caught his attention,"When did she come?" he asked, knowing that she blamed him for Warrick's death, knowing that she wanted to probably confront him again,he really didn't blame her though, it was his fault and he had to make it right.

It was around noon today, maybe a little bit later." she answered as she finished filling the pan with warm water.

"Did she say anything?" he asked, his voice low and sad.

The tech carried the pan of warm water over and sat it on the bedside table,"No, she was crying though,she seemed very sad."

He nodded, suddenly becoming quiet, he allowed the tech to do her job, she washed his face and neck then dried it off with towel , proceeding on down his body, but he was lost in thought and did not acknowledge or respond to her anymore, he just thought about his friend, Warrick.

**Crime Lab**

It was back to work at usual, cases were backing up and his team was short handed, even though Ecklie had hired a new CSI, Riley Adams. This would be their first night together as a team in over a week.

Grissom walked into the breakroom with the assignments, Catherine and Gregg were getting acquainted with the new CSI, Nick's absence was definitely missed, but they had work to get accomplished.

Catherine and Riley you have a DB at the Royal Flush on Flamingo and Denver, Greg you have a B and E at Westinghouse and Graham, take Wendy with you, she needs the experience. I'm going with Brass to work up a missing person.

He turned to leave the room, everybody stood to leave also, but then he returned and looked at his new CSI,"Riley, welcome to the team." Grissom remarked,then he left the room to find Brass.

Riley smiled and picked up her jacket and followed Catherine out of the room, Greg went to find Wendy.

As Grissom walked down the hallway to get Brass he couldn't help but to feel a tremendous sense of loss for his friend, he felt his team had lost something that would never be replaced, something only his rock could give to the team,stability.

**Desert Palm**

Dr Roberts walked down the hallway towards her most difficult patient's room. Julia had informed her that Nick Stokes was still running a fever and that his appetite had been poor. Karen Roberts was concerned and was considering a Infectious disease specialist to look at the cultures to see if she or the surgeon were missing something.

A police guard stood outside the room,Nick was not aware of the extra precautions. It was ordered for his own protection since the attempt on his and Wendy's life at the house. Brass was not going to take any risks with Nick's life.

She opened the door to a very dark room, her patient still sitting in the chair, his eyes closed,"Mr Stokes are you awake?"

"Yes, I'm awake." he quickly answered, she flipped on the overhead light and looked at her patient. He seemed more pale and if possible, more sad than a few days earlier at the funeral home.

He brushed away the sweat that had formed on his feverish forehead, his cheeks flushed, the only color to his pale features.

"I just dropped by to check on you before I left for the day." She lied, she wanted to make sure he was doing okay, she was worried about his shoulder and his mental well being.

"Thanks. But I'm fine." he answered, hoping his words would suffice and she would just leave him alone for the night.

"Your blood and wound cultures aren't really showing anything new, I'm considering a specialist to take a look at you in the morning." she announced as she looked up at his empty antibiotic bags.

"I feel better. When can I go home?" he was ready to leave, not wanting to hear that he had another problem that would prolong his visit.

"I want you to be able to go home too but not with a fever. We need to figure this out so I can get you out of here,and back to work."She hoped that she could win him over by seeming to be optimistic about getting him back to work.

"Sure. Right." his tone sarcastic but he really just wanted to go home, not fight with the doctor.

She was empathetic to his desire to leave, he had been through a lot in just a few days but she couldn't ignore the fever,she pulled her stethoscope out of her pocket and held it up to his chest,"I'm just going to take a listen to your chest to assess your breath sounds."

He nodded and closed his eyes as if to block out any more intrusions on his body.

As she listened ,she thought she could hear faint rales in his lower left base,she was a little alarmed at this discovery, the possibility of pneumonia was her first thought."I'm going to order a chest x-ray and I'm going to start you on another antibiotic, Vancomycin, if your kidney function is still good. I'll check some labs to make sure, but I'm going to treat your fever aggressively until we see what we are working with here." she took his chart and made some notes, noticing her patient's silence.

"Are you okay?" she asked, placing the chart on the table and moving herself into a position where she could see his eyes.

"I'm just fine and dandy." He felt another delay in him getting out of the hospital on the horizon, if he had pneumonia then he might be there another week,or longer.

She gave him a pat on his good shoulder,"I'll get you out of here as quick as I can, but I won't endanger your health in trying to expedite your release,you would be back here again and a whole lot sicker. Just work with us and I promise I'll do my best to get you out of here and back home,even if we have to do home care."

Those words actually made him give her a smile, he just wanted to go home. He nodded his head in agreement, he would do what she wanted for a little bit longer.

"Let me help you get back to bed. Another thing, I want you to start eating, it'll help your wound to heal." she assisted him back to bed, noting the grimace on his face as she watched him move from the chair to the bed. Her patient had a lot of healing to do, she just hoped that he would allow himself to heal properly.

Dr Roberts walked out of the room,she needed to get back early in the morning,she needed to get some sleep,it would be a long day if her patient was developing pneumonia.

Nick rolled onto his side and watched as the doctor left, the pain in his shoulder a reminder of the work he had ahead of him, his commitment to bringing his friend's real murderer to justice.

**Outside of Desert Palm Hospital**

The man looked up at Nick's hospital room,pulling out his high powered rifle from behind the passenger seat, it would be an easy kill shot,he couldn't miss. He knew that it was a job he couldn't fail at or it would cost him his own life.

**Okay, another necessary chapter but it will get moving next time!!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**Okay back to some action...it is getting a little stale in that hospital.**

The man looked up at Nick's hospital room,pulling out his high powered rifle from behind the passenger seat, it would be an easy kill shot,he couldn't miss. He knew that it was a job he couldn't fail at or it would cost him his own life.

He exited his car, the sixth floor of the adjacent garage was basically vacant save a few empty cars, but they were of no concern to the shooter, the cameras were fixed, they wouldn't be filming anything tonight and this small task shouldn't take long.

He hid behind a column and took a position that would give him a direct view of Nick Stokes room, he was a sharp shooter and his target would be an easy kill.

Taking aim at the window he found his target lying in bed, the nurse was making her rounds, he would be patient,he needed a clear shot and it needed to be one that would end the problem started almost five years ago.

**Nick's Room**

The new night shift nurse was busying herself assessing his drain and wound, she was quiet and went about her business with a professionalism that was admired by Nick. The fact she was not a talker was actually nice.

She was about to exit the room when she went over and closed the blinds to the window, then walked back towards the door.

"I'll check back in on you later,call me if you need me." she instructed as she left the room.

He gave his nurse a wave before she left and turned to his side, all he wanted to do was to have some time to think.

"Nicky, I need you to get out the bed and I mean now!" Warrick's voice shouted to him from the bathroom, he was motioning his friend inside.

"You again? I'm running a fever and you're my imaginary fevered friend,so go away!" Nick was getting tired of his hallucinations, it was a distraction to what he needed to get done.

"Nicky, get your ass out of that bed and get in here, and I mean now!" the friendly voice of the past was being harsh, angry and urgent.

Nick made his way out of the bed and into the bathroom,"Okay, what's the problem now. Another killer?" Sarcasm dripping from his voice,his mood was not the best as he pushed his IV pole to the side, almost tipping it over.

The shattering of glass was deafening, Nick looked out the bathroom door to see where he was lying just minutes before, was now a bed of glass and shredded mattress.

"Damn, I guess it was a killer. Warrick,what the hell?" He turned to look for his friend but again he was alone, Warrick was gone again. He was loosing his mind and he felt his world was falling apart. He sat down on the floor and placed his head into his hands, what case had led to this, what had he and Warrick accidentally uncovered without realizing exactly what they had uncovered.

**The Garage**

The shooter watched as the nurse closed the blinds to Stokes's room and he smiled, he already had the location, all he needed to see was the light go off and he would do his job, the wait was not very long, he steadied his aim and took the shot, no way Nick Stokes was still alive, the shot would've taken off his head.

He packed his gun and placed it back into his car with gloved hands, his job was done,Stokes was dead.

He pulled out of his space and was about to descend down the winding garage when he saw the man who had given him his instructions. He rolled down the window to talk, the man pulled his gun, placing against the man's forehead and taking the shot, the shooter was dead,his car crashing into the wall of the concrete garage with a powerful crunching of metal and concrete.

The man in charge was happy, no witness to this crime,no killer for the CSI's to chase, it would be over until they figured it out, who was really in charge,who the real killer actually was and why he had to do what he did.

The man cleaned the weapon with gloved hands and tossed it in the car then walked away,just as he had instructed McKeen to do just days before, he could no longer trust others to get the job done.

**Desert Palm**

The sound of glass shattering caught the attention of all the staff, including the police officer standing outside Nick's door. He immediately responded to the noise and kicked open the door, seeing that the window was shattered and the bed was empty, he pulled his radio to his mouth and spoke, "We have a shooting at Desert Palm, I need help immediately to Room 654."

If the patient wasn't in his bed then where was his charge? He looked into the small closet but it was closed. He then walked over and opened the bathroom door and found Nick sitting in the floor. Nick looked up and smiled,"Guess he missed this time." he was not upset, he was just feeling slightly defeated.

"That's a good thing Mr Stokes." he answered as he walked over to the window and gave a quick glance outside and spotted the garage, he knew he needed to get some officers to the sixth floor of the garage, the direct shot was probably from that area, he got back on his radio and allowed the nurse to do her job, the room was filling with medical personnel.

"Are you okay?" his nurse asked as he assessed to see if he was injured.

"I'm fine. I guess this means I get a new room." He attempted to stand but found himself being pushed back down.

"We can't allow you to leave this room until we find out if it is safe,somebody just tried to kill you." The nurse was anxious, scared and he felt her trauma was his fault.

"Listen, if they tried to kill me, then I'm sure they thought they had succeeded, when you pulled the blinds down you probably saved my life." He gave her a comforting smile, she was his hero.

"Let's just wait to make for sure. That was a little scary." she took a seat beside him on the edge of the bathtub,waiting for security to tell them it was all clear, the room now crowded with police and hospital security.

"What's your name, I don't recall you telling me your name." He just wanted to know who had just saved his life.

She smiled down at Nick, "I don't have a name, trust me, you were lucky Nick but we can only do so much, you're going to have to help us, this isn't easy."

He looked up at her with a look of confusion, they were the only two in the small bathroom,what the hell was she talking about? He looked down to gather his thoughts then back up, she was gone.

His nurse had just disappeared,or did she just quietly leave? He placed his face against the cool tile and closed his eyes,he was losing his mind,he really didn't know how much more he could take of ghosts and killers.

**More later?? Motivate me!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

Desert Palm

His nurse had just disappeared,or did she just quietly leave? He placed his face against the cool tile and closed his eyes,he was losing his mind,he really didn't know how much more he could take of ghosts and killers.

He had to get out of here, he was putting too may lives in danger but he wouldn't get too far with all the police and security outside, soon his team would be here to process his mattress, and the garage across the street,it had to be where the shot came from, the shot that would have ended his life.

Had it been that easy to seek out his location and aim a high powered gun at his head? Somebody with information had to be feeding it to whoever was attempting to kill him, and whoever was around him was in danger.

"Are you going to sit on that cold floor all night Nick?" the voice of Sara Sidle pulled him from his dark thoughts.

"No, just long enough to know that nobody else is aiming at my head." he looked up at the woman who had broken his heart,the woman who had taken away so much from him when she left without even a good-bye.

She reached her hand down for him to take it and he did, standing was difficult and his shoulder was on fire but he refused to allow her to see his pain."Where's the rest of the team?"

"I don't know, I was just coming for a visit, I think we need to have a little talk." she gave him her sideways smile and motioned him to follow her out of the small room, she was pushing his IV pole in a different direction and all he could do was follow, with a ton of police escorts behind him.

Nick did not feel like talking right now, he needed to leave, he needed to find a safe place to be able to look at the files, he knew if he could look at the files he could figure it out, the way Warrick had figured it out.

A wheelchair was awaiting him out in the hallway along with a crowd of onlookers. They were staring at the man who had been shot at and all they had in their eyes was a look of pity, and he definitely didn't want pity.

"They have a new room for you Nick, one without windows." Sara thought it would be a good idea, given the circumstances, pointing to the wheelchair.

He had experienced enough, he reached down and disconnected the IV in his hand, tearing out the IV, giving the crowd something to actually stare at for the moment.

"I'm done Sara, too many people are being placed in jeopardy,I need to get this done on my own." Nick walked back in the room and grabbed his clothes and walked back into the bathroom, he was staunching the flow of blood from his hand when he heard a voice behind him, it was wasn't Warrick or Sara this time, it was Grissom.

"We really let you down Nicky." his voice was quiet, he reached around and shut the door.

"I'm fine, I just need to go home, if they want to kill me, then at least nobody else gets hurt." Nick wanted to just get out of the hospital, he needed to see what case had caused his friend to get the death penalty from a rouge cop.

"You're not fine, we're not fine." Grissom stood against the door as if to keep Nick inside,"We lost Warrick, we lost our friend. How do we come to terms with this loss Nick, how would we come to terms with losing another member of our team?"

"I can't think about that right now, I have work to do, I don't think Pritchard, Mckeen or the shooter are the ones in charge. I need to look at the case files, I have a feeling that it was something that Warrick and I worked on together,something that lead to these last few days." He refused to turn around and face his supervisor, afraid that he might lose the nerve to make the decision that had to be made.

"Why would you think that Nick?" Grissom 's face in the mirror was a reflection of a beaten man, someone who was suffering as much as he was suffering.

"I know some things, but I can't tell you my source." How do you tell anybody a ghost, spirit or an an hallucination told you something, he thought to himself,it even sounded crazy to him.

"What can I do to help Nicky?" Grissom seemed sincere in tone, his face serious, the fact that he wanted to help him was emotionally overwhelming.

"I asked Jim to get the files from the police station, cases that Warrick and I worked over the past nine years. I want to go over them, I think the clue to our murderer lies there,the reason that Warrick had to die and the reason they want me dead too." Nick had finally gathered the courage to turn and face his boss.

"I'll help, the team will help." he turned to open the door but was stopped by Nick's voice.

"Not here, I want to go somewhere where nobody is sticking me with needles and pushing drugs down my throat." Nick reached down and retrieved a t-shirt from the bag then a pair of jeans, slipping them both on his sore body,"I need a safe house." Realizing that he would need a place that wasn't only safe for him but for the rest of the team.

"Jim can arrange it, I'm sure." Grissom pulled out his cell.

"Jim is the only one I trust on the force right now, everybody else is a suspect." Nick added, knowing that nobody actually knew who the mole was and he would not place the team in danger.

Grissom nodded, he already knew that the mole could be anybody,taking Nick out of the hospital would not only be risking his friend's health but his life also. Hopefully it wouldn't take long to figure it out, Nick and Warrick hadn't worked that many cases together,they were two very independent csi's.

Grissom dialed Jim's number,"Jim, I need a safe house."

Brass answered quickly,"I already have one and the files are there, ready for Nicky to look over them."

"Good, I need to make a few more arrangements, then I'll call you back to get some directions." Grissom ended the call and took Nick's arm and led him out of the bathroom,"I need those halls cleared." he commanded the police officer's in the room, not knowing if the killer was present.

Sara was still standing in the hospital room, she looked over to Grissom and then to a dressed Nick and knew they were in for a road trip.

**The Garage**

Brass looked at he dead body in the Ford Taurus and shook his head, he had taken the shot at his friend but somebody else had to have directed the hit and decided to kill him to cover any tracks, someone as brazen as McKeen ,after he shot and killed Warrick.

They were definitely dealing with a cop and this cop wanted his friend dead, he would need to assist Nick in finding the son of a bitch.

He knew that he needed to call Karen, she would need to make arrangements for Nick to get medical care outside the hospital, at least until the real killer was found.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed her number, he knew he would be waking her up, it was two in the morning, most normal people slept at night.

"Hello." her voice seemed very awake and fresh, much to Jim's surprise.

"Hey it's Jim, we have another problem." Jim was trying to give her a head's up to the fact that she wasn't going to really like what he was about to say."Somebody took a shot at Nick, we're going to have to move him."

"They what?" she almost was shouting into the phone,"Move him where?" her fury evident by her tone of voice,"He is one sick man, who has an infection somewhere in his body, and I'm trying to figure out where, so where the hell do you think you are going to take him?" her only thought that was her patient could have pneumonia or a resistant strain of bacteria in the wound.

Jim took a deep breath because he was really going to piss her off with his next line," He's going to moved to a safe house."

"He's not going anywhere, if you move him to a place where he can't get antibiotics or pain medication you might as well go ahead and buy him a coffin too, because he could die from the infection." she was livid, how could one man go through all this hell and not come out scarred or dead.

"I have an idea, but it's up to you." Jim felt as if he needed to reign the angry doctor back in and give her something to think about.

"What? I don't think you could piss me off anymore than you have, so go for it!" she was mad, what were they thinking?

"You go with us to the safe house, I can get whatever you need there to take care of Nick." He held his breath hoping that she would give it some thought.

"I'll call you back, I need to see if I can make arrangements for my other patients." the line went dead.

Brass hung up the phone, he knew that Karen would be there,she cared too much for her patient, he needed to start getting medical supplies sent to the house.

**LVPD (Lower level Garage)**

The man got out of his vehicle, news that Stokes had survived again was fueling his anger, it only injected his desire more to end the life of the man who had investigated such a simple case but had caused his world to tumble.

He grabbed hold of the door handle and walked into the department area,distrust for each other now creating an atmosphere of fear,a fear that he thrived on, unfortunately for them, they trusted him, he was the only one they could trust.

He chuckled to himself and continued down the hallway, smiles from the staff and fellow officers made him almost laugh at their total lack of caution, he knew their weaknesses, he had been there long enough to know their secrets too. They all trusted him,he smiled again as he opened the door to his office and walked inside, shutting the door he could not help but to speak out loud,"What fools."

**Okay, a little feedback helps, and is very appreciated! Thanks!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**You guys know how to motivate me..I love you...and I hope I get that across to each of you...you really make me want to write...you make it fun!!**

**Desert Palm**

The sound of heels hitting tile was all that could be heard outside of Nick's now temporary room, he had been placed in the windowless prison to await Brass. But being a CSI as long as he had been one, he knew the sound of his doctor anywhere and this was not going to be good.

Dr Karen Roberts walked into the room and gave her patient a sympathetic look, along with feeling a little irritation at him pulling out her IV."I guess Jim told you."

"Tell me what?" he asked,having to work at not falling off to sleep,he would have sworn he had been drugged but he guessed that the infection was actually making him feel this bad.

"I'm going to be your private doctor until they find whoever took a pop shot at you tonight." she gave him a smile and a look of you're not going to get rid of me that easy.

"Sara." Nick looked around to see her still sitting in the chair beside him,"Shoot me now."

Karen smiled at her patient,"You might not want to wish for another gunshot so readily, we still haven't got the infection in your shoulder cured yet." she smiled and looked around for Jim.

Nick looked over at Sara again and closed his eyes as he mouthed the words,"Please,kill me now."

Sara smiled at the thought that Nick Stokes had found his match, this might not be such a boring safe house after all.

"Hey the gang's all here." Jim announced as he walked into the hospital room to a very irritated Nick and a very enthusiastic Dr Karen Roberts.

"When can we leave, I'm getting a little claustrophobic in this room." Nick moaned, the room now crowded with Grissom, Sara, Jim and Dr Roberts.

"We're waiting for the rest of the gang, Catherine, Gregg and our newest member of our team Riley Adams." Grissom wanted to know that the entire team would be working with Nick to assist in going through the files and working towards finding the killer.

"Are you sure you don't want to invite Ecklie?" the sarcasm not lost on the rest of the people in the room, except for the doctor.

Grissom smiled, "He had other plans."

Nick nodded, his boss got his joke, maybe he was losing his mind.

Brass looked around the hallway and spotted his friends along with a pretty brunette following behind the two members of Grissom's night team. He had not told the other officers where Nick Stokes newest location was and he definitely didn't tell them that Nick would be leaving.

"Okay, we need to get going before someone decides to look for Nick, hopefully we can pull this off without a hitch." Jim Brass assisted in getting Nick into a wheelchair and started rolling him towards a back hall, freight elevator. As they all entered there was silence, guns were readied for whatever they might encounter, Brass still holding on to Nick's wheelchair.

The elevator arrived at the basement floor, Grissom and Gregg stepped out and made a sweep of the area, nobody was in sight. Brass pushed the wheelchair off the elevator and moved towards the garage, a van parked at the entrance, Nick was assisted up and into a seat, Dr Roberts fastening his seat belt as he leaned back and watched the others enter the van except for Brass who entered an unmarked police car up in front of the van.

He was tired, it was early in the morning but his lack of sleep made his eyes heavy and he fell to sleep just minutes into the trip. His head leaned into the window, the cool feeling of the glass comforting his warm skin.

**The Crime Lab**

Hodges moved across the lab ,noticing that none of the team was around, none of the agents had checked in any evidence the whole night,the strangeness of it was not lost on the others in the crime lab either.

Archie had been out for lunch earlier in the night but other than Archie, nobody else had left. Now he was watching a rerun of the old Star trek episodes on his private video screen hidden in the corner of his office.

Mandy and Wendy were discussing the men killed in Wendy's home, it had been scary and thrilling all at the same time. Wendy didn't talk about Warrick's missing body, she had been instructed not to tell anybody.

Henry and Bobby Dawson were talking business in the lab, sharing some new forensic techniques,going over evidence brought in the day before.

Hodges walked over to Grissom's office and pulled out his key and let himself inside, the lights still dim, he knew that Grissom wouldn't be returning for the rest of the night, he had been distracted,Nick's health was much more important than any case, it had taken him a while to move past Warrick's death but now he was a part of another problem.

Hodges sat down in Grissom's chair,looking at the mail that had stacked high on his boss's desk, he slowly started looking through the envelopes and packages until he spotted what he had been looking for, he took the envelope out and stuck it into his jacket pocket,it would be all that he needed.

Hodges stood and walked back out of the office leaving everything as he had found it,locking the door, he walked away as if nothing had happened.

**Safehouse**

The van pulled into the driveway of the older two story home, it was on the edge of town, abandoned by the owners years ago, refurbished by a private owner, someone Jim Brass knew personally. The only people in the force who knew they were there were the ones in the van was Brass.

Grissom turned around and looked at a sleeping Nick,"We need to get him inside, Sara, go in and see what room would be best for Nick, his room needs to join with the doctor's."

Jim came to the side and opened the door, "I've already taken care of it Gil, the room's downstairs are connected and I've already set up Nick's medical supplies and the medical bed was delivered earlier tonight."

"You just made my job easier." Sara commented as she opened her door, Gregg, Riley and Catherine exiting from behind,each pulling out their bags and and depositing them on the concrete floor of the now closed garage.

"Hey Nick, we need to get you inside." Grissom was getting out to open Nick's door when a head shot up and a startled Nick almost jumped out of his skin,"You scared me."

"Sorry Nick,but we need to get you inside." Grissom knew that Nick was on edge, almost being killed twice in one week would do that to any person.

"Sorry, I guess I was dreaming." he straightened himself up in the seat and swung his legs around to get out when a firm arm went around him and assisted him out, he turned to see Brass smile.

"Nicky, try not to piss off the doctor while she's here. She really is doing this for you." He whispered into Nick's ear, giving him a a quick smile.

"I'll try, but no promises." he groaned under his breath, the movement from the van causing his arm to hurt even more.

Grissom held open the door as Brass and Nick made their way in, moving towards the bedroom,it was filled with the medical bed, medical equipment, and boxes of bandages that had already been delivered to the room. It was like a hospital room without the smell, which he knew wouldn't be for long, he knew the IV would be replaced and he knew they wouldn't allow him to be able to rest, but at least his hallucinations might be kept at bay, hopefully, only crazy men saw ghosts or whatever the hell they were.

Brass eased him onto the bed and assisted him in taking off his shoes and pants, Sara had deposited Nick's bag beside the bed and Brass reached inside and pulled out a pair of jogging pants and helped Nick to put them on, knowing that Nick was unable to move his left shoulder.

"Thanks." Nick muttered as he eased himself down on the bed and closed his eyes,the light was turned off and the door closed. Nobody would be bothering his friend for a while, he needed to sleep.

Grissom and Gregg were already looking at the high tech security system for the house, it had motion detectors, a fence that would fry a heifer and every window in the house had bars,it was like the most secured place they had ever seen, even more so than the police station or any high profile individual.

"Who created this place?" Gregg asked as he watched the monitoring system, with cameras around the entire perimeter of the house.

"A friend of mine lost his brother a few years back, he was in a witness protection safe house, they broke in, killed him and the cops protecting him. My friend wanted to make a change. He wanted to make a difference, so he restored this old house, it don't look like much on the outside but it is the safest place ever, trust me, not even the worst of criminals could make it past the front gate." Brass explained as he went to a room that was locked, he took out his key and opened the door, inside were boxes of files, the cases that Nick and Warrick had worked on or even gave an opinion on were inside the room, nine years worth of files.

"What the hell?" Gregg asked as he stepped inside the room, followed by Catherine and Grissom.

"These are the files Nick asked for, he thought they might hold a clue to who actually had Warrick killed." Brass explained as he opened a box that contained files from the year 2000 to the present, one of the files he lifted out was actually one of the first cases that Nick and Warrick had really come together and worked on as a team, a possible robbery/phantom driver. He shook his head, this wasn't going to be an easy task,going through these files was going to be rough on the whole team.

He lay the file back into the box and turned to see all of the team standing in the room, their eyes fixed on the boxes,each still in their own world of pain with their own memories to fuel their grief.

The newest CSI was standing outside the room, looking inside, wanting to be a part of something important, something that made them all feel very close.

"I need to go and check on Karen, these files can wait until morning, we all need to sleep." he motioned them out of the room then turned and locked the door, Nick would be the first to go over the files,he had promised him.

They all nodded in unison, they all needed some sleep, they all dispersed to different bedrooms. Sara and Grissom were to share a room, Catherine and Riley would share a room also and Gregg and Brass would take the only other bedroom downstairs.

Riley followed Catherine to the upstairs bedroom, opening the door they were surprised at the detail that had been put into the room, it was beautiful. The artwork exquisite, Riley looked at the paintings in awe of the masterful artist's work.

"Wow, whoever painted these had to be really talented." she spoke to herself as she walked around the room, the two twin full beds took up most of the room ,along with a dresser and a vanity. The closet was huge, a closet made definitely for a woman, she thought to herself as she walked inside.

Catherine smiled, the newest CSI was making observations of even the smallest of details in the room, she was going to work out really well, fit in with the team,they were a team,regardless of what McKeen had done and she needed to talk to Nick by himself, she had to say she was sorry.

**Downstairs/Dr Robert's Room**

Dr Roberts was getting out the medications that were ordered for her patient and placing them in the small refrigerator that had been placed in her room, the IV paraphernalia was placed on the dresser, she would need to give her patient his antibiotic at least by six o'clock in the morning, he probably needed some Tylenol for his fever now, his skin was warm to touch in the van, his fever was at least a hundred and one or higher.

As she busied herself setting her clock and putting away her things she heard a small knock on her door,she stopped and opened the door, met with Jim's face, she smiled.

"Come in." she waved him in and shut the door, she gave him a sweet smile and offered him a seat.

Brass sat down,the door between the rooms cracked just enough for him to be able to see Nick."How's he doing?"

"He's sick,I really need to check the hospital system and see what his chest xray showed." she knew that she wasn't allowed to use her own cell, the GPS would bring anybody looking for them to this location.

Brass reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone, use this, it doesn't have a GPS ,it's a pay phone, over the counter, I have everybody one so we can communicate.

"You think of everything don't you." she took the phone and dialed the number to retrieve the xray report, she punched in the numbers and listened to the report, the look on her face quickly gave away that it was bad, she hung up the phone and laid it down on the dresser,"He has pneumonia, this isn't good, we don't have oxygen here or the ability to give breathing treatments, and he will need these things probably soon." she was worried, people, even young people died of pneumonia that was not treated properly.

"Tell me what you need, I can get it for you, no problem." Brass smiled at the woman standing above him, she was beautiful and she was full of personality. Dr Roberts definitely had a love for what she did, she was a great doctor,caring and respectful of her patients. He felt something for this woman, he hoped when this was over that he would be able to see if she felt the same.

"Aren't you the man?" she teased, she seemed pleased that Jim Brass had connections to get her what she needed, what Nick would need to improve.

She still felt nervous about treating him without a hospital, he could get into real respiratory problems, his shoulder not helping the situation, the infection in the wound still not any better either,he really needed a hospital, she would do what she could here but if he got worse then she would have to do what she had to do to get him back to the hospital.

She wrote down what Nick would need and gave it to her new friend, her movements halted as their hands touched,their eyes met,a sort of electricity was felt by both,it was if they were making a connection.

They both noted it but knew they had work to do,"I'll get right on it Doc." he gave her a small smile then stood and walked out of the room,reluctantly, not wanting to leave what he hadn't felt in so many years but he had a job to do, Nick needed him to keep focus.

He pulled out his cell to make a call.

**Okay guys...new place...new focus...Catherine needs to say she is sorry for what she has done to Nick. Is he ready to accept the apology though?? Next chapter!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

Gregg was up early to relieve Brass with the monitoring the security system,Brass had looked exhausted, having to go out during the early morning to retrieve some more equipment for the doctor.

He was now sleeping in the bedroom, the house still very quiet at six o'clock in the morning, the few hours of sleep he was able to get was definitely not enough, as soon as somebody came down he was going to go back to bed for a while.

Gregg rubbed at his sleepy eyes, he suddenly heard voices now coming from Nick's bedroom, he just figured it was the doctor giving his friend his much needed medicine. Nick and ht e doctor were kind of like oil and water though,definitely not much love between them.

He smiled as he heard Nick let out a curse word, she must of stuck a needle in him or something ,he could not help but to let out a small laugh, his friend the cowboy had met his match.

**Nick's bedroom**

Nick let out a harsh cough, his fever was elevated and he felt like someone was sitting on his chest,his clothes were soaked with fevered sweat. He starred at the ceiling as the doctor had entered with an IV pump and fluids.

"Hey Mr Stokes, I need to start your IV, I need to give you some antibiotics and fluids." she informed as she made her way to his bed, seeing that he looked absolutely miserable.

She had wanted to wake him earlier to apply the oxygen that Brass had obtained, the portable tanks would be useful but would need to be refilled. He would also need an Albuterol /Proventil treatment at least every four hours for a few days,it would assist in opening up his bronchial tubes and make it easier for him to breathe.

She noticed that her patient, even with his eyes open, was being very quiet, it concerned her, his color more pale than the day before. She sat down with the angiocath and IV package and ripped it open so she could restart his IV, she knew he hated needles but she had no choice, he needed his antibiotics.

She took his right arm and placed the tourniquet tight, catching a few hairs in the process.

"Dammit that hurts!" He yelled,sitting up some to see what his doctor was doing.

She released the tight tourniquet and looked down into fevered eyes."I can try to get a vein without the band I guess." she continued to look at his arm,his veins still stood up remarkably ,given his medical condition.

"I didn't mean to yell ,but everything hurts this morning." he admitted, he felt worse today than he had in several days.

"You have pneumonia, you're a very sick man." her honesty she felt ,was necessary, maybe it would help for him to realize just how sick he really was, so he might cooperate more with the regimen of drugs.

"Is that why I feel as if a horse is sitting on my chest?" he asked as he let out a deep rattling cough.

She nodded, reached over and pulled out a tissue from the box sitting on the bedside table,"Spit it out into this."

He spit the unwanted phlegm into the tissue, the doctor was intrigued with the green color. He watched as she placed it to the side as if it were a trophy.

She opened the angiocath package and prepared her syringe of saline,and the adapter, then pulled off the tape that would hold it all in place,"You're going to feel a little stick now." she warned as the needle pierced his sensitive skin.

He grimaced as she searched for the vein, but after several seconds she was taping the catheter into place and hooking up his antibiotic.

He watched as she mixed his medicine together, the new IV bottles were fascinating, the medicine in a vial at the end of the IV bottle, a small twist, the fluid enters and mixes with the medicine and then she turned it upside down and the medicine went into the main fluid chamber. He would be more intrigued with the new method if it wasn't him getting the medicine.

"I need you to let me take your temperature." she held up the glass thermometer.

He hadn't seen one of those in a while, " Depends where you're going to put it." his sarcasm was back, he was getting tired of the attention, he just wanted to go back to sleep for a while.

"Open your mouth." she slid the thermometer underneath his tongue and took her stethoscope and placed it into her ears so that she could listen to his chest. As she auscultated the sounds she noted that the rales from earlier the night before were worse, he had also developed some wheezing in his left upper posterior lobe. These new developments worried her and she knew she would have a fight on her hands keeping him in the bed and keeping him quiet.

Taking her stethoscope out of her ears she reached down and took out the thermometer, his fever was one-hundred and three. No wonder he looks so bad,she thought to herself,his fever was high and he needed several things to get it down.

"I need you take this Tylenol and I need to give you a tepid bath, then I'll leave you alone for a little while." watching for his reaction to the news of the bath, she knew he might fight the idea.

"He sat up in bed and reached for the Tylenol and took the two pills with the offered water. He fell back, too weak to argue about he bath,"Just do it and get it over with." he moaned as he closed his eyes, the light seemed to bother them now,his skin felt sensitive even to the slightest touch,what had happened to him overnight?

Karen pulled out a pan from one of the boxes of hospital equipment and turned down the air conditioning in the room she didn't want her patient to shiver, it would only cause the fever to increase.

She placed lukewarm water into the pan and went back to find that her patient was asleep, she still proceeded giving him the bath, raising his shirt over his bandaged arm would be difficult to do by herself,suddenly she heard a noise behind her, she turned to find a very sleepy looking Brass.

"You need some help?" he asked as he watched her wash Nick's face.

"Please, I need to get these clothes off Nick, he's burning up with fever." she stood back so that he could take off Nick shirt and pants, leaving his boxers intact.

He watched as she gave his friend the fever reducing bath, he could see Nick relax from his fitful sleep to a more comfortable state,he assisted rolling him over so that she could change his sheet, which was soaked in sweat.

"How's he doing?" he asked,worryied about the pneumonia that his friend had developed.

"Not good this morning, he seems to have gotten a lot worse over night,the stress from the shooting and the move here probably didn't help." she pushed her hair back with her hand as she continued to assess her patient. She had ordered medications for her patient that she had prescribed in the hospital and they had arrived but she would probably need others if he continued to worsen.

"Let me know if I can do anything else." he walked back out into the hallway and towards his room, he was tired, but he knew that Nick's life was in their hands. He needed to get the man responsible for the events of the past week in jail so that they could all rest. He honestly hoped Nick was right about the files. He closed his door and fell onto his bed, he needed a little sleep.

Karen finished, leaving Nick in his boxers, his skin feeling a little bit cooler to touch, she placed the sheet over him as he slept more peacefully now. The antibiotics for the morning were finished,his bandage to his shoulder redressed and the drain emptied.

Karen walked out of his room leaving the door open between the two rooms,she needed to get some sleep herself. She had placed Nick on some oxygen, his breathing seemed better after his first breathing treatment, he seemed to have slept through it all, he was exhausted.

She pulled down the blanket on her bed and turned off her light, the small light in Nick's room allowing her to see her patient,she would need to find a lab to run some more tests later,she needed to culture the sputum to make sure she had him on the right antibiotic.

**Catherine and Riley's Room**

Catherine had found it difficult to sleep, her conscience was bothering her, what she had done to Nick was unforgivable, her own pain taking precedence over anything and everything else a few days ago. Warrick meant more to her than the others would ever realize, except maybe Nick. Nick would understand, she hoped.

She stood and dressed, she needed to tell him she was sorry, too much time had passed but she could tell one of the reasons Nick was in the shape he was in was because of what she had said and done following Nick finding Warrick's body. Finding his best friend's body had to be traumatic.

She made her way out of the room, Riley was still sleeping soundly. She closed the door and made her way downstairs to Nick's room.

**Nick's Room**

He was lying on his side facing away from the door to the hallway, a new IV had been started, a sheet covered him, she walked over and placed her hand on his sweaty brow, he must have been running a fever earlier.

"Nick, you awake?" she asked as she pulled up a chair beside his bed.

He opened his eyes to see his friend Catherine, the woman he had disappointed just days before,he was the reason for all her grief."Hey." He sat up so he could see her better, his aching body protesting his movements but he didn't want to make her mad so he sat up so that he could hear what she had to say.

"We need to talk." she whispered.

Nick pointed towards the door which was open between the rooms, he really didn't want the doctor to hear his conversation with Catherine, he didn't want her to hear the accusations he knew Catherine would be throwing at him,accusations he deserved.

Catherine nodded in understanding and stood to walk over to close the door, she gently pulled it closed and walked back over to her chair and took a seat, she needed to let Nick know she was sorry.

She looked at his shoulder, the bandage a reminder of all he had suffered the past few days, mostly alone, the team had failed him and she had a sudden feeling of nausea hit her at the thought of what nick had been left to suffer alone."I said some things the other night, things I really didn't mean, I was just in a lot of pain and I took it out on you Nicky, I shouldn't of done that to you."

"Catherine,I understand,I know what Warrick meant to you,what you lost." Nick felt responsible for what had happened to Catherine, she had loved Warrick, it was not a spoken love, it was an unspoken love, a union that should have happened years ago. They were meant to be together and he had let her down, he should of walked Warrick out to his car, he should have protected his friend that night,he should have died, not Warrick.

Tears ran down her cheeks,the pain evident on her face, he could see her pain, he had caused her pain.

"Nicky, I need you to know that you aren't responsible for what happened to Rick, and I should of never said what I said to you that night , it was out of my own selfish pain that I blamed you." she reached up and wiped away her tears, she was really sorry for what she had done and said to Nick.

"You were right Cat,I should of walked him to his car,you trusted me to stay with him that night,I failed you and I failed our team. I knew Pritchard hadn't been caught and I still allowed my best friend to walk out of that diner alone, to die, and I can't bring him back. I'm so sorry Cat, I'm so sorry." he could not allow the tears yet, he had to get Warrick's killer, the true killer, the man who had ordered the murder of his friend,"I will find the killer Cat and I will make him pay for what he did to you and to our team, I promise."

Catherine seemed surprised at what Nick was saying,he was taking the blame she had thrown on him the other night and creating his own desire for vengeance for the killer,"No Nick, we will find the killer and he will face criminal charges of murder and be tried in a court of law. You just need to heal,to allow yourself to get better. Okay?" she reached over and gave him a kiss on his cheek, the same cheek she had slapped just days before."Please forgive me Nicky,I really am sorry."

Nick looked at her, why should she apologize, she was right, he was responsible,it was his fault that Rick died, why hadn't he taken care of his friend? He turned to look at the closed door,then back to Catherine,"I know what Warrick meant to you, I understand your pain Cat,I really do,you did what you should have done. I should have been there for Rick, I should have died that night attempting to save our friend, but instead, I was inside, safe, flirting with the waitress in the diner, putting my own needs first. I am the one who is sorry Cat, I am responsible for Warrick dying, I didn't do my job and he died."

"Nick, nobody knew that McKeen would be out there that night waiting to kill Rick, having an agenda that would suit the needs of a crime boss,we all know whoever is trying to kill you, killed Warrick and would've killed you too that night. That's why they are coming after you now, you know something that they aren't willing to allow getting out in the public, something Rick figured out, something you might figure out going through the files." she was frustrated at Nick for not listening to reasoning,he was being stubborn, and it was pissing her off.

Nick shook his head, he felt as if she was trying to make him feel as if it wasn't his fault,"Catherine, I'm tired. You need to go and get some rest too."

"Nick, we're not done with this." she was now standing, angry that Nick was not allowing her to apologize, instead making himself feel more guilty and he wasn't, it wasn't his fault, it was nobody except McKeen's fault, and the man who now was attempting to kill Nick's fault.

Nick rolled over and starred at the wall, he just wanted to be alone, he needed to see the files, he needed to see what Warrick saw.

Catherine closed the door as she left, leaving Nick alone in the dark room,she was crying, she knew what damage she had caused and it was up to her to fix it, it would just take time. She had to convince Nick that it wasn't his fault.

"Nick, what the hell are you doing man?" Warrick's voice was upset.

Nick rolled over to see his hallucination again, "What now?" he asked feeling that he was about to get another lecture from a dead man.

"We had this talk in the car man, aren't you listening to me? I said you had nothing to do with my murder. You need to get better and look at the files." Warrick sat down in the vacated chair becoming very quiet,"I really screwed up Nick."

Nick turned to see his friend,"What do you mean Rick?"

"Catherine. I loved her so much but I could never tell her, now she feels all this pain. I really screwed up big time." he placed his face in his hands and shook his head.

"Won't be the first time man, you did tend to avoid showing your true feelings when it came to Cat, she loved you." His own guilt resurfacing again , he knew what he had done has cost so many people so much pain,the man before him would still be alive if he had not been so selfish.

"Yeah, I know. You need to cut her a break and let her know that you accept her apology, it was sincere Nick." Warrick now looking over at his friend.

"She doesn't owe me an apology, she was right, I failed you. I'll make it right though I promise." he smiled at the ghost, hallucination, whatever the hell it or he was.

"Nick, you just want to piss me off don't you! Get off your self indulgence trip, boy and listen to what people are trying to tell you, they care about your ass man, so stop feeling so sorry for yourself and get better." Warrick was suddenly standing and yelling at his friend, angry at what he was doing to himself and the others.

"I'm responsible Warrick, don't you get it, I was being selfish and I allowed my friend to walk out to his car alone and die! I'm tired of arguing with a ghost and tell Holly she doesn't have to come around and save my ass anymore either, both of you need to leave me the hell alone." He was shouting,causing himself to go into into a coughing fit, his chest tightening and feeling suddenly restricted, he couldn't breathe.

Dr Roberts opened the door to find her patient having difficulty breathing, his sats were low and he seemed to be going into respiratory arrest, she needed help."I need some help in here!" she screamed out ,attempting to get Nick some more oxygen, dammit she needed him in a hospital!

**Okay people...you know how I am...have a great weekend!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

Dr Roberts opened the door to find her patient having difficulty breathing, his sats were low and he seemed to be going into respiratory arrest, she needed help."I need some help in here!" she screamed out ,attempting to get Nick some more oxygen, dammit she needed him in a hospital!

**Grissom and Sara's Room**

Sara was awake, she was thinking about the files and how much she wanted to be a part of the case involving Nick, she regretted not being a part of the team.

Suddenly she heard a scream from downstairs,"Gil, something is wrong." she turned over to see Him getting up and grabbing his gun.

"Sara, stay here." he instructed and opened the door, he was met by Catherine and Riley coming out of their room both with their guns drawn also.

"What's going on?" Catherine asked as she attempted to see what was happening downstairs but all she could see was Gregg at the security area.

"I'm not really for sure but I thought I heard someone scream." he walked forward, seeing Gregg move towards Nick's room quickly leaving the security area unattended, he ran downstairs with his gun held in position.

He looked at the monitoring system, no alarms were sounding but he could hear a commotion coming from Nick's room, he made his way to the door to see the doctor working on Nick, who was having a very rough time breathing .

"What the hell?" he asked as he saw Brass and Gregg assisting the doctor in attempting to get Nick to breathe, he was having a great deal of difficulty.

"I need suction now!" she yelled to Brass who was trying to find the suction apparatus that he had picked up earlier in the morning.

He pulled out the small machine with a cannister and tubing already attached and took it over to the bed and plugged it into the wall."It's ready." he announced to the doctor.

She took the small tube and placed some ky jelly on the slender tube and pushed it down Nick's nose, "I need hands, now!" she called out as Nick was attempting to pull the tubing back out, his own panic to be able to breathe causing him to try to pull out the tube,"Restrain his hands."

The men looked timid, Grissom ran over, placing the safety back on his gun, placing it on the dresser, he grabbed Nick's hands,"Nick, listen, we are trying to help you, just calm down!" he was feeling his own panic starting to rise as he caught site of Nick's blue lips and his struggles to get the tube out of his nose and to get in a breath.

Catherine and Riley made their way into the room, they also secured their guns, Riley's brother had experienced asthma attacks all of his life and she knew that Nick needed to be able to breathe, time was of the essence.

Riley reached over and took the mask lying on the table and filled the med chamber with the meds for his nebulizer, which were sitting on the dresser, and turned on the oxygen full blast. The tubing was already connected to the oxygen, she then placed the mask near Nick's face, the doctor giving her a nod of approval.

The suctioning was working in unison with the medication from the nebulizer and Nick's struggles were calming down, each person in the room giving a sigh of relief. His blue lips were starting to pink up and he was breathing again.

"Nick, I'm going to give you something to help you rest." Dr Roberts reached for a syringe and grabbed a medicine bottle from the drawer, she pulled up the clear liquid and injected it into the IV port, then flushed it with a pre-filled syringe of saline, Nick was almost immediately effected by the drug, his struggles quieted.

Grissom loosened his grip on Nick's hands and stood back, seeing that Nick was almost asleep, his eyes half opened, the breathing treatment secured to his face, now that his struggles had stopped.

"What happened?" Grissom asked as he watched his team, some with tears in their eyes, others just standing back in shock.

The doctor continued checking his oxygen saturation and watching his heartrate on the monitor she had applied during his attack,"He went into respiratory distress, possibly from a mucus plug, I can't really tell."

"Is he going to be okay?" a timid and scared Gregg asked from his relocated corner, the episode had terrified him , the thought of losing another friend so soon after losing Warrick was more than he could handle. More than he wanted to handle.

"Listen, your friend is sick, he could've died if I hadn't come into the room. I won't lie to you, he needs to be in the ICU unit at Desert Palm,but unfortunately he could die there too because this freak wants to kill him, so the answer to your question is I don't know. I just don't know." she turned and walked away to her room, she was clearly upset, Jim followed her into the room leaving the door open.

Riley walked over to see that Nick was definitely still awake and listening to every word uttered in the room,"Hi Nick, my name is Riley, I was hired to work on your team, you just gave us a scare."

Nick looked up at the brunette with drugged focus, he could hear her but was having a hard time getting a visual due to the mask and the drugs, so he just nodded in understanding.

"We just need you to focus on breathing right now, okay." her voice smooth and calm, she knew creating a panic could actually make it worse.

Riley took a glove out the box, placed it on her hand, then reached over and grabbed a handful of tissues and cleaned Nick's nose, a mixture of blood and mucus noted from the suctioning catheter. He had been through hell in such a short period of time,he probably had never experienced anything like it in his lifetime but she had been there too many times with her brother.

The room still held every member of the team, each wanting to give their friend some form of comfort, Catherine started straightening the bed, Gregg started to organized the equipment to where it would be more accessible and Grissom was observing the suctioned mucus in the cannister,as if it held bugs, which it probably did hold some form of bacteria.

The room was quiet except for the sounds of Nick's labored breathing.

**Dr Robert's Room**

"Listen Jim, I know I volunteered for this but I just almost lost a patient in there because he doesn't have the right equipment. What if I had to intubate him, he wouldn't have stood a chance." she felt frustrated at the situation, if she sent him back to the hospital then he would more than likely die and if she waited here to see what she could do with what she had, at least he might have a slim chance, but at least it was a chance.

"What do you want me to do, Nicky is like a son to me, I won't put his life in danger." His voice was sincere and filled with emotion.

Karen turned around and shook her head, "I need a ventilator and a ICU code cart, it will have all the meds I need in case of an emergency. I would like to have a percussion jacket, it would help prevent Nick's pneumonia from solidifying in his lower lung,make it a size large."

"Write it down and be specific, I'll see what I can do to get it delivered." Jim walked out the room to get dressed, another long day was ahead of him and the rest of the team,especially for Dr Roberts.

"Jim.", she called him back into the room,"Jim I need these drugs also, I have Nick listed as Norman Bates , his alias with home health, give them this list and they will get me what I need." she handed him the piece of paper.

Brass smirked at the name, her and Nick might some day be friends but evidently it wouldn't be today. He headed out of the room again, hopefully Nick would start feeling better soon.

Karen walked back into Nick's room, seeing how the man's friend and co-workers were so helpful she would take it a step further,"I need a nurse, and there are male nurses so no gender typing boys."

Riley raised her hand,"I'll take first watch. I have a little experience with respiratory illnesses, my brother is an asthmatic."

Dr Roberts suddenly had a realization, no wonder she knew what to do earlier, she would be perfect to assist with Nick Stokes."Sounds great,everybody else get together and see who is next,I will need someone around the clock for at least the next few days."

Gregg looked around the room and shook his head,"I'm not good at this but if you give me a microscope, a centrifuge and some lab supplies I'll run your labs and cultures."

Dr Roberts was more than happy to know she had a lab tech,"Great, make a list of what you need, I'll give it to Jim."

Gregg smiled,and felt relieved at the same time. He turned and walked out of the room to make a list of what he would need.

Sara was standing at the door, taking in the scene,wanting to help Nick but knowing that he might not want her help,"I'll fix breakfast." she shrugged really not knowing what she could to assist other than cook.

"I'll take second shift." Catherine volunteered then left to go and get dressed seeing that Nick was doing much better.

Grissom was starring down at Nick, "I'm going to start looking at the files,we need to get started on finding who this individual is and why do they want Nick dead. He left the room to get dressed also, he would get the key from Brass.

Dr Roberts looked down at Nick and removed the treatment, it was finished."How are you doing?" she asked in a quiet ,soft voice.

He could barely form words, the drug was taking him under,"Umm,kay." He shook his head, his words not understandable,he wanted to let them know he was okay, he was fine now, but sleep pulled him under and he was out.

**LVPD**

His fingers were drumming on the desk, where was his guy and why was it taking him so long to get what he wanted, it was a simple task,"Dammit!" he yelled out,there was nobody near that could hear him,"Where the hell is David?"

A knock on the door interrupted his aggravated mood,"Come in!" he yelled loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear.

The door opened and in walked David Hodges carrying a brown envelope,addressed to Gil Grissom."I got it, I told you it wouldn't be a problem."

He reached out and took the envelope and looked at the address, then at the return address, Warrick Brown's address scribbled in the upper left hand corner."That was close, what took so long?" he looked up at the man whom he had hired to assist him in getting jobs done,a great brown noser if there ever was one.

"Too many people around but they were all gone tonight, no evidence was turned in for processing, I think something is up with the team." he smiled, giving his boss useful information was such a pleasure.

"Interesting David, very interesting. Keep your eyes and ears open, we might have a situation on our hands,one that you might just be useful again in taking care of, just like you did at Wendy Simm's house." he gave his helper a smile and pointed to the door for him to leave.

Hodges understood and opened the door,"How's Nick?"

"Perfect", he replied as he watched Hodges leave the room, the door pulled closed, he smiled, opening the letter and reading it's contents he could not help but to laugh out loud,"Too bad Warrick, Grissom would of loved to see this,naming me as a suspect in a high profile killing. You were so right, too bad nobody will ever know now."

He stood and walked over to his shredder, placing the envelope and its contents into the machine ,he could not help but to laugh.

**Don't jump to conclusions yet...we haven't looked at the files yet!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

Grissom sat in the room by himself, he opened the box with the first case files that Warrick and Nick had worked together as a team,he couldn't help but to smile at the two men's different methods of investigating.

His concentration was broken as Brass walked in and plopped himself in a chair,"That is one demanding woman,she reminds me of my ex." he looked exhausted and Grissom couldn't help but smile at the man's remarks, it was quiet evident that Jim was more than a little enamored by the woman.

"Sounds like you like Dr Roberts." Grissom quipped, hoping to get a reaction from his friend.

"Well, she does have a good bedside manner." He winked at Grissom, who gave him raised eyebrows.

"You find anything yet?" He asked as he took off his jacket and took a file from the box.

"Just got started actually, I had to wash the dishes first." Sara had requested his help in the kitchen.

Brass made the sound of a whip, then buried his head in the file.

"Yeah, you have room to talk." he looked up to see Brass smile.

"Guys, you need any help?" Sara asked as she walked into the room wondering what the boys had been talking about before she entered.

Grissom reached in and pulled out another file,"Yes." Handing the file to Sara and motioning for her to take a seat in the room.

"Actually, I have a great memory, and I just don't remember anything that ever really ca;;ed my attention to a killer in the LVPD station." she took a seat with the file, already opening it up to read.

"Well,I have an eidetic memory and I don't either but that doesn't really mean anything, it could have been an accidental discovery, something Warrick might have recently been exposed to again." He reached into another box and pulled out the files of the most recent cases.

"Where's Catherine?" Grissom asked, thinking out loud.

"Watching the security system right now, Riley is helping with Nick and Gregg is having the time of his life with the equipment Brass brought back." Sara couldn't help but to smile at his child like behavior when he saw the new equipment.

"Who's paying for all this?" Grissom asked, wondering if his department was going to have a big bill.

"I'll bill it to Ecklie after the case is officially closed. It's his case anyways." Brass smiled as he continued to read through the file, he knew Ecklie would be having a cow when he saw the bill but he would have to get over it.

"He'll have to answer to his boss,wouldn't I like to be a fly on the wall." Sara couldn't help but to smile at the thought of Ecklie seeing a bill larger than his entire year's budget and getting reamed for it by the director.

"Yeah, he will." Grissom remarked, also giving then a little grin.

**Nick's room**

Riley sat beside a sleeping Nick's bed, he was restless and was evidently dreaming about his friend. Catherine had informed her that Nick had found Warrick at the crime scene, that he was unable to attend the funeral or either wake for his friend.

Just listening to the rumor mill at the crime lab, Warrick and Nick were like brothers, the best of friends. Her father, the psychologist, had always told her that most work relationships were stronger than most family relationships, given the amount of time spent together in the workplace.

Evidently Warrick and Nick's relationship was extremely close, best buds. She knew that it had really effected Nick from the team's conversations, being the new person was difficult enough given the best of circumstances, now it was actually the worst of situations, a team mate murdered and another one with two attempts on his life in less than a week.

Riley's thought were interrupted as Nick began to mumble.

"Warrick, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry man." he mumbled in his sleep, beads of sweat rolling down his face, the fever had broken again, the doctor would be happy.

"Nick, it's okay. You're safe, everything is fine." she wanted to comfort her co-worker but really didn't know too much about him, except that he was a great guy,but according to some, he loved the women too.

He opened his eyes and attempted to focus on the face of the person talking,"Drink."His lips were dry and his throat hurt from the suctioning device earlier.

Riley walked over and retrieved a glass of water from the sink then held it to his lips, he wanted to gulp it but he didn't want to end up in another coughing fit so he took a small sip then pushed it away, it was warm and tasted like metal."Bottle water next time." he coughed a little bit then gave her a small grin.

"Sorry, it was the closest thing I had at the moment, I'll do better next time," she gave him a smile.

"Where's Dr Jekyll?" he asked as he looked around the room.

"Dr Roberts? She's in the kitchen getting something to eat and if I understood her correctly she was going to fix you something too." she grabbed the thermometer and shook it down and gestured for him to open his mouth.

Nick obeyed and opened his mouth and then clamped down on the glass thermometer, he closed his eyes, the effects of the drugs still felt, when he felt the glass leave his mouth he opened his eyes again to see Dr Roberts."You again?"

"You love me, it's just hard for you to show it Mr Stokes." she smiled as she looked at the low grade fever, a big improvement over the past few hours. "Think you can eat something?"

"What?" he attempted to lift himself up in the hospital bed but if he was weak before, now he was absolutely just wiped out.

"Let us help Nick." Riley offered, hitting the button for the head to lower,"Okay, just scoot yourself up a little, using your legs."

Nick complied and was able to push himself up,"Okay?"

"That's perfect Nick." Riley hit the button again and lifted his head to a sitting position.

Dr Roberts brought a tray over to the bedside and sat it down,"I want to keep you on clear liquids, I don't think your body can tolerate solid food yet."

That was actually a good thing, he really didn't have much of an appetite so jello and soup were just fine with him."No problem."

Riley took a look at the broth and cup of jello and knew Nick was not going to be able to feed himself, his hands were too shaky."Do you mind if I feed you?"

He gave her a look of embarrassment and shook his head,"I can do it."

"Okay, tough cowboy, if you can." she lowered the bedside rail and lowered the bed so that Nick could turn and reach the food.

After a few attempts he was able to sit up, with assistance from Riley and Dr Roberts."Yum, green jello." he reached down to pick up a spoon, his hands shaking,"Why are my hands shaking?"

Dr Roberts walked over and observed Nick's hands shaking,"The medicines for your breathing will do that,maybe I can change you over to Xopenex." she made a note on a sheet of paper and walked over to the box that Jim had brought her earlier. She looked through it and found what she was looking for and walked back over to Nick's bed,"Xopenex has less side effects, we'll try it and see if helps."

Nick nodded to the change. Riley also nodded in agreement, she was very familiar with the drug,"Can I help you now?" she asked seeing that Nick could barely hold the spoon.

"Yeah." he acquiesced to the assistance offered by his new team member.

She spooned the jello up and placed in his mouth, she almost laughed at his facial expression,a look of tasting something nasty on his face,"This taste terrible. Sugar-free?"

"Don't be picky Mr Stokes, I could have made it to go in your IV, it wouldn't taste at all then." she gave him a 'eat it and quit complaining' look.

He looked up at Riley and mouthed,"I hate her." then opened his mouth to take another bite.

Riley wanted to laugh out loud but she feared ticking off the doctor herself so she just smiled and fed him the jello.

**The Security Area**

Catherine let out a big yawn as she starred down at the cameras,nothing was moving outside, no alarms were going off, she was tired and bored.

"I need a bathroom break in here somebody." she spoke out loud, not seeing anybody for over two hours was starting to give her abandonment issues.

Grissom popped his head out of the room with the files,"You yell?"

"Yes, I need a potty break." she stood and stretched sore muscles, then started for the upstairs,"I'll be back in a while."

"How long does it take for you to go potty?" Grissom asked as he took a seat.

"As long as it takes Gil, as long as it takes." she walked up the stairs and disappeared into her room.

"I'll never understand women." he glanced down at the monitors and relaxed into his chair, it might be a while before he saw Catherine again.

**Basement**

Gregg set up his new makeshift lab in the windowless roomy area, it was perfect. He had taken the small refrigerator in the bedroom and placed it in the room ,along with all the equipment Brass had brought back with him, if felt familiar and rather exciting to have his own little lab.

He set up the cultures of Nick's sputum and placed them in the refrigerator. Dr Roberts also needed some blood tests run, a CBC and a BMP. He gathered the syringes,gauze, and alcohol pads then headed upstairs,he just hoped Nick wouldn't punch his lights out when he saw the needles. The one fact he knew about his friend was that he hated needles.

He would have his hands full with an irate Nick. He was kind of glad Dr Roberts would be there, she could tame his outbursts, he hoped.

**Nick's Room**

Dr Roberts was hanging an antibiotic when Gregg walked in the room,"Hey Mr Sanders, you come to draw the blood?"

"That was subtle." Looking over at Nick, who was now giving him the evil eye,he walked over and watched as Riley quickly stood back, a very upset Nick was on the other side. "Hey Nick, I need to draw some blood." his voice almost cracking from fear that he would upset his friend.

"No Gregg." Nick replied starring at the needle in Gregg's hand.

"Either he does it or I'll do it, your choice Mr Stokes." Dr Roberts no nonsense voice echoed through the room, everybody had their eyes on Nick.

"Gregg, you have one chance, so get it right." he held out his right arm and watched as Gregg placed a tourniquet around his upper arm and rubbed his antecubital area with alcohol,he then stuck the needle in and withdrew the three vials of blood, an extra one just in case the doctor thought of something else. He then withdrew the needle and placed a gauze bandage over the site."It's done." he smiled but saw that Nick was not smiling back.

He quickly gathered the blood and left the room, Nick rolled to his side and was going to close his eyes when the doctor showed up at the bedside with a jacket.

"I'm not cold." he responded, seeing that Riley was leaving the room,evidently she knew what was about to happen and didn't want to be a part of it.

"It's a percussion jacket, it helps the infection in your lung from getting hardened,it also helps you to get rid of the mucus and clear your bronchials. It gives your chest a slight tightening feeling. The respiratory therapist usually does it but the jacket will deliver it for a longer period of time.

He sat up enough for her to apply the jacket and watched as she connected the hoses , when she turned it on, it felt okay for the first few minutes then his shoulder started throbbing, the feeling that his heartbeat was in his shoulder started,"This isn't working."

Dr Roberts felt her patient wasn't giving it a chance until she walked around the bed to see his face, he was in pain,severe pain, she quickly turned off the device and removed the jacket,"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am now." he closed his eyes and wished the pain to end.

"Here, take this, it'll help with the pain." she offered him two pills.

"What is it?" he asked, he hated the effects of drugs.

"It's just a mild narcotic, it's Toradol, it's great for pain and it's nonaddictive." she explained to her patient.

"Okay." he took the pills and then the offered water, he closed his eyes and hoped that the pain med would react quickly. He was getting tired of being sick.

Dr Roberts placed his nasal cannuli around his face and into his nostrils then set it on two liters a minutes and reattached his sat monitor, his saturation level was in the mid nineties, satisfactory for now.

She reached over and turned off the light in the room, she wanted to take a nap, the nights for respiratory patients was always the worst.

**This is a taking care of business chapter...necessary to the story as a whole.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note:This is my seventh CSI fic.

**1700 pm**

**LVPD**

The man looked at the police report, then threw it at the wall, he had failed, but how? He had Stokes in his gun's sight,he even pulled the damned trigger. How the hell had he missed?

He needed to go back to the hospital to see where they had hidden the only other man who could point the finger at him and this time he would die, he had to die.

He stood and gathered his things from his desk, he needed to get a clue without looking obvious to the others as to Nick Stokes' location, it was imperative that he find him and take care of business, this had been going on too long.

He picked up his cell phone to make a call, he needed the best to get it done, someone that nobody would ever suspect,the only person who hated Stokes more than he hated him,he was a detective,he could get his location without a problem.

The phone rang and he waited impatiently for the man to answer, then he heard the voice.

"Chris Cavalier, may I help you." not recognizing the caller ID.

"Yes, you can." He answered the detective,"I need your help on something."

He knew immediately who it was and smiled,"Anything for an old friend."

"I hear someone took a shot at Stokes in the hospital last night." he needed to see how much Chris already was aware of given the events of the past week.

"I heard that too, it's actually the talk of the station this morning,but I hear that the guy must of been a bad shot, he missed completely." Cavalier sat down at his private desk, wondering who could've hired someone to kill Stokes,the man who actually squeaked when he walked.

"It's hard to believe he survived given his condition, I heard he was shot by McKeen, he really must be suffering right now. I would love to send him some flowers or a card." he needed to see if Cavalier could give him the location of Stokes.

"He's not at Desert Palm anymore, according to the officers, they took him out late last night,Brass evidently got him another hospital or a safehouse." Cavalier explained, he had wanted to see Nick himself and had asked the officer in charge of guarding Nick last night where he was relocated but the officer had seen them leave and that was it.

I should have known, he thought to himself,"Hey, if you hear anything give me a call,I really want to get in touch with Nick, he is such a hero right now"

"Yeah, Nick always seems to get lucky. The man must have nine lives or a guardian angel, one or the other." Cavalier leaned forward in his chair and shook his head, some people had all the luck but others like Warrick Brown, had none.

"I'll talk to you later." He ended the call.

Before Cavalier had a chance to respond, the phone line was dead. He placed his phone back on the hook and pulled out a file,he had never really trusted the man on the other end of the line,his mind could not let go of the thought that Nick might be in more trouble.

"Okay, I need to find out if he is in a safehouse or the county hospital." the man picked up the phone and made a call, he had men who could find out all that he needed to know.

**The Safe House**

Grissom looked down at his watch, Catherine had been gone for over an hour, realization hit him, she wasn't coming back, but he needed to get back to the files.

"Jim!' He yelled, hoping to get the attention of somebody at least.

Brass walked out into the hallway and looked around, "Gil, everything okay?"

"I think Catherine must of drowned, she never came back from the bathroom." Grissom was aggravated at having to leave the files, he needed to get back to work.

"Listen, I would volunteer but I need a nap. I'm pretty sure I'll be back on the errand trail when Karen figures out she needs something else,the lack of sleep is killing me but I can bring some files out here to you if you want." the lack of sleep actually was beginning to give him a headache, all he wanted to do was get a nap.

"Ask Sara to relieve me." Grissom stood and looked back down at the monitors, seeing that nothing was happening.

"You ask her, I'll take watch until she gets here." Jim reluctantly sat down at the security system.

Grissom nodded and made his way back to the room with files, Sara was engrossed in a file laying on her lap. "Gil, I'm not watching the security screen, it makes me feel as if I have motion sickness looking a the screens." she didn't look up, her attention on the file in her lap.

He walked over and grabbed a file that he had been looking at earlier and walked back out of the room, he would watch the screens himself.

Sara looked down at the file, a case they had all worked on together, a knife that was not admissible in court due to a warrant issue. The sheriff had had been angry about having the wrong man. Did he blame Warrick? She rubbed at her eyes and looked up to see that she was the only one left in the room.

Her neck was getting stiff from sitting in the chair for too long, she stood and laid the file down on her chair then walked out of the room, seeing that Grissom was busy watching the security system and looking at the file in his hand. He looked a little upset, so instead of attempting a conversation with Gil she decided to go see Nick,something she had been trying to put off since she returned.

She walked down the hallway and into the dimly lit room, barely able to see her friend who was lying on his side, "Nick. Are you awake?"

He didn't answer but she could tell by his quickened breathing pattern that he just wasn't answering her, she couldn't blame him though, she had been avoiding him.

She walked over and gave him a gentle, soft kiss on his warm cheek, his eyes fluttered but did not open.

"You're going to make Gris jealous." He spoke quietly so as not to disturb his cript keeper in the next room.

"Nah, you're like my brother, Gil knows that, anyways, he likes me to try new things." she smirked at him as he opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Gotcha!" her laugh stifled by her hand.

"Sar, you are so bad." he shook his head and rolled over with a grimace evident on his face, his shoulder still hurting him, no matter how hard he was trying to hide it from her.

"I know." she giggled and took a seat.

"Are you my new nurse?" hoping silently that the answer was 'no'.

"Nick, you know that I've never had a pet for more than a week." she quipped seeing that she had placed a smile on his face.

"Yeah, they all died, probably from starvation. I heard about your scrambled eggs this morning." He teased, Riley had told him they were runny and tasteless.

"That's not fair, I didn't have a a good recipe. And for your information Nick Stokes, most of my pets ran away."she defended herself.

"They were hungry Sara." he felt a finger poke in his stomach,"Hey, the poor critters were desperate for good food."

"Nick, when you get better I'll cook you a meal and show you that I can cook." she wanted to defend her cooking skills.

"What and make me sick again? No thanks Sar, I'd rather not." He kidded back, seeing that she was starting to get a little too serious.

She folded her arms and a grin spread across her lips, "You're probably right, they did look a little thin by day three."

His signature smile was on his face, she had made him smile."Yeah they did."

"Listen, we need to talk, I owe you an apology, I really am sorry for walking away and not saying why I was leaving." she wanted Nick to understand, they had been best friends prior and she still wanted that relationship, Nick was a great guy, a great friend.

"It was none of my business but to be honest Sara, it did hurt." he looked up at her,"A lot."

"I'm so sorry Nick, I just had to get away, bury some old ghosts, reconnect with my mother." she slid her hand into his and gave it a small squeeze, not wanting to cause him any pain.

"I was hurting inside,the kind of pain that you don't want anybody to see or experience with you, I think you might be the only one who really knows what I was feeling."

He nodded, he had been down that trail before, he was there now."No apology needed Sara, it's all fine." tears welling up in his eyes, she had touched on something that was very sensitive to him right now.

"Hey, I think I could sneak you a popsicle or something?" wanting to change the mood in the room.

"The thought of more non-flavored food was enough to make him nauseated."I'll pass, maybe we could go to another room though, I would like to see the files now.",just wanting to get out of the room he had been placed for too long, it would be great to get a short reprieve.

She gave him a look, seeing that he was sincere,he wanted her to assist his escape from the enclosed walls of his sick room. "I would get in a lot of trouble if I let you leave this room", especially after him having respiratory problems just hours earlier."Nick, I can't let you leave this room yet, you're too sick but I will bring you a file to look at, would that be okay?"

He nodded and sat up the best he could on his own, he wanted to move forward with the case so that he could go back home,so that he could feel human again.

"I was actually looking at a file that involved all of us, you probably remember it well, Rachel Lifford's murder. The sheriff really got really upset with Grissom that Warrick had taken the knife from the car without the proper warrant."

"Yeah,I do remember that case. You and Grissom had a little tiff, if I recall." he gave her a grin.

"It wasn't the first time or the last,smartass."She was about to let out a laugh, giving him a don't go there look, she stood and was about to go and get the file but turned around,"Listen, I really am glad you're okay."

"Me too.", he felt as if his friend was really back, he cared a lot about Sara.

"I'll get you the file but whatever you do, don't tell your warden, I wouldn't want to get on her bad side." she opened the door and walked out of the room.

Nick looked over at the half open door and grinned, thankful that they hadn't awakened the she-devil. He was about to sit up on the side of the bed when he heard a noise outside his window.

He looked out, the sun was shining, he didn't see anything suspicious from his viewpoint, maybe he had imagined it or it might have been a bird or wild animal.

He turned away from the window, feeling if it was something bad he would have seen his ghost friends by now, maybe he was actually doing better.

Sara reentered the room with the files and a huge smile,"Here you go. Is there any rules that you can't have coffee, because I can make coffee." she wiggled her eyebrows at her friend.

"She said clear liquids, I think that coffee would fall into that category." He actually felt better than he had felt since he had arrived.

"If I get in trouble Nick Stokes I will personally stick that tube down your nose next time, and enjoy it while I am doing it, Comprende?" Sara's voice was unemotional, very matter of fact and to the point.

"Nose. Tube. I gotcha." he hoped that he was right about the clear liquid thing, she would be worse than his doctor, she had so much more experience with weapons.

"I'll be back in a few minutes." Sara walked out to get the coffee.

Nick picked up the file and started looking over the details, when suddenly he heard a loud noise outside."What the hell?" he asked out loud, hearing the door behind him open,seeing his doctor enter the room.

"It sounded like a bomb or something." Dr Roberts' concern evident in her voice.

"It sounded like a shot or a backfire of a vehicle." Nick remembered the night he had found his friend, the same sound from the alleyway.

Grissom ran into the room, he looked anxious."I left my gun here, where did I leave it?" He was looking around the room.

"There!" Dr Roberts was pointing at the dresser.

Grissom grabbed his weapon and removed the safety,"We need to get Nick away from the window." He grabbed Nick underneath his good shoulder, Dr Roberts also assisting and got him out of the room.

"Is the monitors going off Jim?" Grissom asked as he passed him in the hallway, sitting Nick down on the floor.

"Nothing, but that doesn't mean anything if they figured a way around the security system." Jim was pulling out his own weapon.

He was feeling a lot of guilt,Warrick had been there every time he was in trouble, had he pissed off his ghost friend by telling him not to come back?" He stared up at the monitoring system,seeing for himself the reason for the loud noise, smoke coming from the house across the street. "Guys the house across the street is on fire."

Brass and Grissom looked at each other, knowing that it could be a possible ploy to get them out of the house but could they risk it?

"Catherine!" Grissom yelled but no answer came back, now he was worried about his CSI who had been upstairs for a very long time.

"Jim, check on Catherine and Riley. I'm going to check on the house across the street. Find Gregg downstairs Sara , make sure he's okay!" Grissom glanced upstairs and opened the front door, Jim switched off the security alarm, they were taking a risk.

Jim made his way upstairs to find Catherine, the door to the bedroom was closed and no sound was coming from the room. He was about to kick in the door when Catherine opened the ot, looking as if she had been asleep, her clotes wrinkled and her hair mused."What's going on Jim?"

He lowered his weapon."Why didn't you answer?" he asked looking down at Gregg who had joined the group in the hallway.

"I was sleeping. What's going on?" she was feeling a panic starting to build inside her, "Where's Grissom?" seeing that the front door was open.

"There was an explosion across the street, the house is on fire, Grissom went to check it out." Brass explained as he moved back down the stairs, Catherine following.

Riley, who had been in the kitchen walked in and was surprised at the commotion, she pulled her gun and removed the safety ,seeing that Nick was sitting out in the hallway,"What's wrong?" but nobody answered their attention focused on the event across the street.

Brass had made it downstairs along with Catherine, he walked outside, watching Grissom, who was across the street."Update me Gil!" he yelled from the front porch.

"Nobody's home,I've called 911." he ran back across the street, noticing that nobody else was around,the sirens could already be heard.

"You used the cell I gave you, right?" he asked as Grissom came back up the driveway.

He looked at Brass with a quizzical look,"Yeah." he answered and reentered the secured house.

Brass took one more look around then followed Gil into the house, going to the security panel and turning on the fence again,resetting the alarms.

Nick seemed to be looking concerned,"I need to be alone for a while, if you don't mind." They assisted him to his feet but he didn't go back towards his room, instead he went to the room with the files.

Nick's doctor was going in the other direction,Brass thinking she was ready to pack it up and leave, but to his surprise she brought out an oxygen tank and tubing for Nick and went into the room.

"Listen, if you need us call, I will respect your privacy but when I say its time for your medicine, no arguments."

He nodded in agreement, he would comply.

Dr Roberts placed the tubing into his nostrils and walked out, shutting the door behind her, hoping that all of their hard work was not going to be for naught.

The room was quiet, the man across from him not saying a work,"Where were you?"

Warrick smiled,"Waiting for you Nicky. Waiting for you to really need my help."

**Okay, it's time to get started...Nick wants Warrick's help but will he be able to give him the answers he needs?**


	27. Chapter 27

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note: Hope you are enjoying this fic, my aim is to please the readers...thank you.

The room was quiet, the man across from him not saying a work,"Where were you?"

Warrick smiled,"Waiting for you Nicky. Waiting for you to really need my help."

Nick waved his hand around the room of boxes,"Anytime Warrick, I need a clue."

"Nick, I know you're not feeling up to par yet but you have to do this, by finding the killer you will save me and you."

Warrick just disappeared, Nick shook his head, why couldn't he just say what damned case instead of being all weird. "Dammit!" he cursed out loud. He needed to think but with the drugs, the pain and the inability to get a breath without putting forth a lot of effort was making it a little bit difficult to concentrate on the files.

Maybe he should start with the file Sara gave him and see if he could see if there was anything familiar there, then work his way through the rest,if Warrick was telling him he had to do this, then he would not let him down.

Nick needed the file he had left on his bed,just as he was about to yell for assistance Sara entered the room with the file she had given him earlier,"Forgot something?"

"Thanks, I was actually going to yell for you to get it for me." he smiled at her seeing that she had something hidden behind her back.

"What?" he asked, seeing that she was being a little bit of the old Sara.

She brought the cup of coffee from around her back and smiled,"Thought you might need this."

"Thanks Sara, I really appreciate it." he took the coffee and the file and started reading it, Sara made her way back out the door, she knew he needed to be alone for a while.

Grissom was now back to watching over the security system, he had a bad feeling about he fire across the street,the police would want to question anybody near the house, the fence was the only thing keeping them at bay.

Brass and Dr Roberts were talking in Nick's room and Riley and Catherine were in the kitchen having a cup of coffee. Sara walked out of the room where Nick was looking at the files and walked over to Grissom,"Hey Gil, don't you find it sort of strange the fire and all."

"Actually I find it more than strange, I feel it was a ploy of some kind, like they were trying to flush us out or something but nobody knows we are here or do they?" He was still looking at the file before him.

"So, what do we do?" she asked as she took a seat next to him.

"We wait, see if they're going to make another move, if so then we make ours." his voice matter of fact as if he were talking about he weather, it drove her crazy when he did this to her.

"And our move is to what? Run?" she asked feeling that Grissom might have a plan but was holding back from telling the rest of the group to keep them from panicking.

"Maybe. We're still working on it right now but as soon as we come up with the best way to avoid the killer, I will let you and the rest of the team know." he looked up at Sara,and gave her a small grin, "I promise."

She nodded and stood, "I think I'll take a look around, maybe see if there is a secret passage way out of the house in case they decide to set it on fire."

"That's kind of a dark thought Sara." he looked confused that her thoughts were going in that direction.

"Killer's are dark Grissom, you should know that by now." she replied as she walked off to explore the old house.

Grissom shook his head and went back to work on the case file,the Maxwell Larson case, the case that Ecklie had used to split up his team, the decision that sent Nick to a box in the ground eventually by Ecklie's decision, which led to the breaking up the night team.

He continued to read, wondering if he was missing something in the case file. Had Ecklie thought of this on his own or had he been prompted by another person or department to dismantle the night shift crew. But for what purpose?

Grissom took a glance over to a beeping sound coming from the monitors, somebody was ringing the front entrance,two LVPD officers standing at the front gate,"Brass we have a problem!" he shouted to the man in the other room.

Brass came out and looked out the monitor,"If we stay really quite, maybe they will go away."

"Maybe. I think it would be taking a big risk to talk to them, we could compromise our position and Nick's." Grissom was still starring at the monitors.

"Then quite it is,unless they decide to cut the power and come in to flush us out." Brass felt it could be a possibility if they knew they were there, but it was still daylight outside,he even wondered if the fire was a distraction or was it a gas leak? If it was a gas leak then they could all be in jeopardy.

He looked around to see the the monitors for carbon monoxide poisoning were remaining quiet, no beeps or sounds, the risk might be too great to ignore."If we have a gas leak we all might be in danger if we ignore them. I have an idea."

"Karen?" he asked,knowing she would not be as easily recognized.

"If she agrees, we need to find out quick though before we blow up or they cut the power." Brass walked into the bedroom to find Karen, Within minutes Karen,looking rather fresh from her nap earlier came into the room.

"What do you want me to say?" she asked, police work was definitely not her forte.

"Just pretend it's your home, they will ask you if you heard anything,just tell them you did and that your son called 911, that it scared you." Brass gave her a nod,"You can do this Karen."

She nodded and opened the door and walked out and down the driveway.

She spoke to the officer's for about ten minutes and walked back to the house, Brass and Grissom watching.

She walked back in and shut the door,"They like the security system, and they think it was arson." she walked back into the bedroom,"Tell Nick it's time for his medicine and if he gives you a hard time, come and get me." her mood was a little confusing, she seemed anxious.

Brass and Grissom looked at each other and shrugged.

"I'll get Nick, keep watching the monitors Jim." Grissom started towards the room where Nick was sitting, it was quiet. At first he thought Nick had dozed off but now he saw that he was just studying a couple of files.

"Getting anywhere yet?" Grissom asked as he looked down at the case files.

"Not really, just some coincidences I guess. What? Karen wants to practice medicine on me again?" he asked already knowing the answer as he moved from his seat slowly with Grissom's assistance.

"She's a great doctor Nick and she really cares about you or she wouldn't be here for sure." he wanted Nick to appreciate what the doctor had given up for him, but knew Nick was having a difficult time right now, the loss of a friend and someone attempting to kill him too, plus his condition was being compromised by all the stress.

Nick nodded, she was good but she was also a thorn in his side, he just needed to stop complaining and do as she instructed, that would make it better, hopefully.

As Nick and Grissom walked back into the bedroom he saw Gregg ready to inflict more pain,"Gregg,not now."

"Not my call Nick." he looked over at the stoic doctor.

He bit his lip and took a seat on the bed, he knew what to expect next, more bloodwork. "I hate this."

Dr Roberts came around and started to remove Nick's bandage,"I need a fresh culture of the wound, it's not healing, I want to see why it's not getting better."

Gregg walked over and took out a swab, the open wound still looked bad, the drainage in the wound drain was still copious. "Listen Gregg, I want it as deep as you can get it, I want to see what is growing in the wound."

Nick closed his eyes at the onslaught of pain, his shoulder having spasms as Gregg took the swab deep into the wound, Nick clinching the sheet and attempting to hold back from crying, it hurt so bad.

"Okay, I have what I need." Gregg looked over at Nick,"I'm sorry man." he them covered the swab in a sterile tube and walked out the door.

Nick just lay down on his side and pulled his feet into the bed, the doctor redressing the wound and giving him a pat on the back,"I'm sorry, but if I can't treat this infection properly you could get septic, that could kill you."

He didn't argue, he just accepted whatever she had to do, he was tired.

"Here, it's the same thing I gave you earlier. It did help, didn't it?" she asked as she set up his IV antibiotics.

Nick was quiet, he was thinking about he files, what was the connection, he felt there was a connection.

Dr Roberts flushed the angiocath then plugged in the antibiotic and took a seat beside her patient's bed,"Hey, we need to talk."

"Talk about what?" he asked, his eyes feeling very heavy suddenly.

"The police officers outside, they know you're here, they're concerned about you and what you've been through. They just want to talk to you, see how you are doing, they really seemed to care."

He looked up at the doctor,"It's a trick, you need to tell Grissom. You need to tell Brass, they could jeopardized their lives, your life. Please tell them." he felt drugged, really out of it and then he knew,"They threatened you, didn't they, they told you that they would hurt you or someone you loved." Nick tried to sit up but the drugs were pulling him back down.

"Listen, I volunteered to take care of you, I can't risk the people I love for this, not for anybody, not even for you Nick Stokes, I'm so sorry."

He tried to sit up but she pushed him back down,"Nick, I trust them, they said they didn't want you to get hurt, they just wanted to talk."

"They're not police officers, they're hired killers." he got the words out of his mouth, then the drugs pulled him under.

What had she done, she trusted that they were police officers and she told them everything, she had jeopardized not only everybody's life in the house but her life and her family's lives also. Dammit, why had she gone out there, she needed to tell Jim, he would understand.

She grabbed her purse and pulled out her cell, she then placed it in her pocket, she needed to let Jim know what she had done,how she had been so stupid.

A sudden onslaught of gunfire hit the house. She rolled Nick out of the bed and onto the floor, the IV pulling away from the angiocath in his arm,"I need you to wake up Nick!" she started to hear others shouting in the house, what had she done?

**Feedback, just so I know that you're still there!**


	28. Chapter 28

**Author: Nicksfriend**

Rating:k

Spoilers: For Gedda

Disclaimer: They do not belong to me...that is for sure.

Author's note: Hope you are enjoying this fic, my aim is to please the readers...thank you.

She grabbed hold of Nick underneath his arms and started to drag him into the hallway, Brass entered the room and started to pull Nick over his shoulder but a hail of bullets at the barred shatter proof window stopped him quickly and they all huddled against the inner wall.

"What did you tell them?" he asked, hoping she really hadn't said anything but assuming the worse.

"I thought they were real officers, they showed me their badge, I didn't have any idea that they were killers. I swear." tears now running down her cheek, holding onto Nick, helping to shield him from the possibility of an onslaught of bullets,"I told them that Nick was safe here, that his friends were making sure he was kept safe. The older man wanted to talk to Nick, I told him he was in no shape to talk, then he threatened me, told me they could not assure the welfare of my mother if I continued to protect Nick, that they could do a better job."

"I should have never sent you out there without you knowing everything. We have a mole somewhere in our station or somewhere in the system,they want Nick dead, that you already knew ,but what you don't know is that there are a lot of our officers who are involved and they wouldn't mind killing us all to get to Nick for some reason." he looked over to Karen and shook his head,"I'm sorry."

"Well, Nick felt these were hired killers for some reason, right before he past out,I swear I didn't drug him except for what I gave him last night, I think the pain was definitely an aiding issue in his unconsciousness." Karen was a little concerned about her patient, could he have passed out from the pain from the culture Gregg just performed or was there a more serious problem going on with her patient?

Brass pulled out the pay phone and dialed a number, he needed to trust somebody right now, these men were brave shooting at the house in broad daylight, what would they do when it was dark?

"This is Jim, I need immediate back-up,now dammit, we're being fired upon." Brass held on to the person on the other end of the call, "What's your Mother's address and name?" he needed to get her some protection.

"Janice Roberts. She lives an Desert Sands Retirement Center,apartment 28." she felt Nick's flushed face, his fever was elevated again, he needed something for the fever but he was out cold, she had noticed the gunfire had stopped though.

Brass gave the information to the person he was speaking to on the phone,then ended the call.

Brass crawled over to the door but didn't see Grissom or any other member of the team, the gunfire had stopped and he needed to take a look at the security system, he needed to see what was happening outside.

"I'll be back in a minute." he looked over to Karen who seemed more concerned with her patient right now.

Brass crawled out the door and over to the security system, the house was well insulated for the barrage of bullets, it had held up without a problem, no signs of damage on the inside, the bullet proof glass was showing signs of stress but was holding up well, the electric fence probably the only thing keeping them from all getting burned up alive.

He looked on the screen and saw that whoever had hit the house was gone,for now at least. Every camera showing no activity. He hit the tape button, wanting to see the faces of the two officers better, hoping deep down inside that it wasn't any of his officers, that in fact, Nick was right they had been hired killers,as he zoomed in on their faces he didn't recognize either one, the firemen in the back looked real but they too were gone.

"Where is everybody?" the voice behind him asked.

Brass turned to see Riley sitting on the floor in the hallway, beads of sweat running down her face, or were they tears? "I don't know but we need to find them,check downstairs for Gregg and I'll check upstairs for Catherine, Grissom and Sara."

She nodded but found it difficult to move, she was frightened, being a CSI had never been this dangerous before,never had her life been this threatened in her entire service to the police force."Are they gone?" she wanted to know before she moved, she felt it was necessary to know before she could stand.

"Yeah they're gone but I have some people on the way, they can be trusted." Brass wanted to give her some comfort, her frightened eyes were telling him that this was a first for her and he wanted to make sure she didn't quit when it was all over.

"Okay, downstairs it is, I'll be back in ten minutes, if I'm not here, find me!" her voice nervous but she made her way down the hallway to the basement door.

She opened the door, the light downstairs was on and she quietly made her way down the short amount of steps."Gregg! Gregg are you okay?" she shouted as she held her gun tight in position to shoot anybody who wanted to give her a problem, hoping that the young man was fine.

Suddenly she saw the young lab tech, turned CSI, he was dancing and singing to the music he had in his ear, she put her gun away and walked over the him and tapped his shoulder, "Gregg!"

"What?" he yelled at being surprised by the new girl, flipping his music off and taking out his ear plugs.

"You didn't hear all the gunfire upstairs?" she asked, angry that he could have been killed.

"What gunfire?" oblivious to what had happened.

"Yeah, you would've died. Why didn't you hear all the gunfire upstairs, because you were playing the music so loud." Riley reprimanded the young CSI then started back up the stairs, you need to come and help us find the rest of the team.

Gregg was worried now,"What happened?" worried about Nick and the rest of his friends.

"They know we're here,they want Nick evidently." it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out, they wanted Nick Stokes to be dead, and they would not stop until they had done their deed.

As Riley and Gregg made their way back up the stairs they heard Brass talking to someone in the hallway, it was someone they didn't recognize, a military man who seemed rather friendly with their captain.

"Hey guys I want you to meet someone." he motioned for the two CSI'S to join the rest of the team.

Riley and Gregg put away their weapons and joined the group,"This is Thomas Grayson, a tactical specialist with the Marines, a long time friend."

Grayson shook their hands, already having been introduced to Grissom and Catherine. Grissom still had his weapon at his side, Catherine had her gun on her waist,neither were ready to take any chances with Nick's life.

Dr Roberts came around the corner,"I need some assistance with Nick, Catherine can you help me?"

Catherine was feeling a little perturbed at the doctor for giving out Nick's location to the two men, but she hadn't had all the facts and she felt bad for Nick. They hadn't shared everything with her, it almost proved fatal for her friend, for all of them.

Catherine walked into the room, Grissom and Brass had placed him back into the bed, his bed placed against the wall out of sight of anybody looking into the window from any distance.

"He went out on me and I need to find out why, he really isn't responding to much right now and he was fine before I gave him this." she held up the bottle of Toradol.

"Maybe a reaction to the medication?" Catherine's concern was elevated at the description of her friend's condition.

"His sats are good, his vitals all within normal ranges, except his fever, it's elevated but not as high as it has been, I'm a little confused." she rubbed at her head, fighting off a migraine that threatened to interrupt her work.

"Possibly tainted medication?" Catherine questioned out loud, as she looked around the room for other clues.

"No way, he took the medication earlier, he was fine." she put the med bottle down on the table and picked up the antibiotics, the vancomycin level, she hadn't checked it since she started him on the med.

"Tell Gregg I need some more lab work done, he might be in renal failure, the Vancomycin can cause problems with the kidneys, I knew that and should have been checking it out. Dammit!"Dr Roberts was mentally giving herself a beating, she was a professional, she knew better.

Catherine ran to get Gregg. Dr Roberts was recalling her pharmacological teachings and that Vancomycin was a good drug but it could be dangerous,the side effects were impressive,run it too fast one could cause cardiac arrest,even too much of a good thing could cause renal failure, cause difficulty breathing and even be fatal.

Gregg entered breathless with his tools to draw blood,"How much doc?"

"I want a CBC, BMP, and a hepatic panel. Also,lets get a vancomycin level and a drug screen, just to make sure that nothing got into his system that we aren't aware of Gregg." Dr Roberts was worried about many possibilities now that she knew they couldn't trust anybody.

Gregg noted that Nick didn't even flinch when the needle hit his skin, the situation was serious, he knew Nick would respond if he could. He obtained the blood and disappeared back downstairs, passing Grayson and Brass in the hallway.

Grayson looked at the young tech, "We need to get you guys out of here, it probably isn't safe anymore Jim." the man was the best at military problems and solutions,he knew that Nick's life was in danger if he stayed in this house, the bullet holes out front a testimony to the veracity that they used and yet they had been unsuccessful. They would try again.

Jim nodded, he knew that they would need a safer place but it was up to the doctor if Nick could be moved again. His condition seemed to worsen by the hour, if they couldn't get his condition improved they would need to take him back to the hospital, it was a death trap regardless."It's hard to tell the good guys from the bad anymore," his remark more for himself than for the man who he had called to assist in helping to protect his friend.

"That's why you called me Jim." Grayson remarked as he started looking at the security system.

"Where's Sara?" Grissom asked ,noticing for the first time that the woman he loved was missing.

"I thought she was in the room with you and Catherine." Jim replied seeing that they weren't all accounted for,"Who saw her last?"

"I guess, I did,she said something about exploring the house." Grissom started towards the back of the old house, she couldn't have been in the basement, Gregg would have seen her, surely.

"If she heard the shots she would have come back here, evidently either she didn't hear the shots or was unable to hear the shots." Brass commented, pulling out his weapon,"Grayson, tell your men we have a missing woman, Sara Sidle." Brass instructed his friend.

"I don't have any door alarms or window alarms going off so she has to be inside." Grayson shouted back to Brass.

"Sara!" Grissom shouted her name through the house.

"She didn't have a gun did she?" Brass asked already knowing the answer.

"No." Grissom answered, knowing that Sara was too stubborn for her own good.

**Nick's Room**

Dr Roberts started looking at he lab values as they started getting to her via Riley, the numbers were good, the white count was elevated but that was due to the pneumonia. She was awaiting the creatinine level, needing to see if he was dehydrated or if the med was causing a problem with his kidneys.

"Riley. Go ask Gregg about the other tests, I need to give Nick another tepid bath, his fever is going up again." she started him on a saline wide open drip, she would need to get a foley catheter in soon if he didn't wake up .

She walked in the other room to get something for her headache,she needed to get her patient to wake up.

_"Nick, you have some work to do, you need to wake up, that doctor doesn't want to have to put you back into the hospital now."_ the voice spoke to him.

Nick could hear Warrick but he couldn't respond.

_"Bertha will be glad to hear that you're coming back."_ he smiled at the thought of his friend needing a sitter.

"_I can't. I'm too tired."_ he thought, unable to speak any words right now, his body fighting something new. Had he been shot?

_"Nick you're getting close, you have to wake up, you have work to do."_ Warrick's voice seemed real,like it was inside of his mind.

"_I can't do this anymore. I'm too tired."_ he spoke to the familiar voice, he didn't feel like fighting anymore.

**Okay...don't worry, overlooked an idea so I had to put Nick down for a while...hang on though ...he is about to get motivated to wake up!  
**


	29. Chapter 29

_**For My Friend Warrick**_

_No do they do not belong to me...wish they did though._

_**Nick's Room**_

"_Nick, you have some work to do, you need to wake up, that doctor doesn't want to have to put you back into the hospital now." the voice spoke to him._

_Nick could hear Warrick but he couldn't respond, he jsut didn't have the energy to respond._

"_Bertha will be glad to hear that you're coming back." he laughed at the mention of his friend needing a sitter._

"_I can't. I'm too tired." he thought, unable to speak any words right now, his body fighting something new. Had he been shot?_

"_Nick you're getting close, you have to wake up, you have work to do." Warrick's voice seemed real,like it was inside of his mind._

"_I can't do this anymore. I'm too tired." he spoke to the familiar voice, he didn't feel like fighting anymore._

"_Nicky, you're not a quitter so get off your ass and get to work buddy, I need you!" Warrick's angry voice echoed in his head, he needed to wake up but he felt so out of it ,so tired, but he needed to wake up for his friend._

"_Nicky,remember, there is a door in the closet, it will save you." He smiled at his friend,"Wake up Nicky, it's time to wake up!"_

He opened his eyes to see his doctor looking a a piece of paper and Gregg standing at the foot of his bed smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"What?" he managed to get out of his dry mouth.

"Nick, you're finally awake." Gregg greeted his friend.

"Was I asleep?" he felt groggy.

"You had us worried but your friend here figured it out, you're creatinine level was too high, your body unable to process the meds out of your system so they built up and you became toxic. I gave you some fluid boluses and you seem to be coming around really well." she gave him a smile, feeling relieved that her patient hadn't suffered permanent kidney damage.

He got really quiet and then grimaced,"What about the shooters?" he asked remembering that they were all being shot at, the last thing he actually remembered.

"Well, they're gone for now but they might be back, Brass called in an old friend to help us out, a military man named Thomas Grayson." Gregg informed his friend.

He nodded, he was feeling crappy but he knew that he had a job to do,"Gregg ,get me the files I was working on and also get me the file where Warrick was arrested for Candy's murder." he requested it hoping that they would not interfere, time was running out, he could feel it.

Gregg looked at the doctor, she nodded her approval and he disappeared to go and get the files.

"Sorry about earlier, I really messed up." she admitted, wanting Nick to know that she was truly sorry for what she had done.

"No problem, just don't put me back in the hospital just yet." he seemed to have a renewed mental energy, which surprised her a lot, given his condition.

He reached up with his right arm and pulled himself into a sitting position then sudden realization hit him and he looked underneath the blanket,"No, you didn't."

"I'll get rid of it when the color changes back to clear from that hot pink in the bag." she gave him the doctor look, the one he knew would not be of any assistance in getting his way.

"I hate those things." he threw his head back and closed his eyes until he heard Gregg re-enter the room.

"Here you go Nick." he handed his friend the files, Nick reaching for them and pulling them on his lap.

"Thanks Gregg." he looked down at the files again, there was a connection, he needed to find it, he needed to see what Warrick had seen,what Warrick wanted him to see.

"Hey if you guys don't need me I have some cultures to run, Catherine is going to keep me company for a while." he gave Nick a grin and a raised eyebrow, then left the room.

"Behave Greggo." Nick grinned and went back to studying the files.

Gregg must of really taken off running because he didn't give Nick his usual smartass answer.

Okay Warrick, what is it that you want me to find, he asked himself? You thought Lou Gedda killed Candy, maybe it wasn't Gedda after all,maybe there's a connection that we didn't see before, somebody else in the department.

He started going through the files,why couldn't he see what Warrick wanted him to see? He felt somehow that the files were connected,something familiar.

She was almost thankful that he was going through the files, Dr Roberts was just happy that her patient was at least not attempting to get out of the bed, he had come close with his kidneys, she would need to make sure his elevated creatinine level continued to decrease over the next few days.

She looked out into the hallway, seeing the man Brass had asked to assist with the problem sitting at the security station, looking at the security screens with an intense look on his face.

"Where is everybody?" she asked, a feeling that it was a little bit too quiet,the silence was overwhelming her senses.

"They went to look for their friend, Sara, she disappeared during the gunfire,she was exploring the house or something, the lab boy and Catherine went downstairs to the make-shift lab." he explained, not taking his eyes off the monitor.

"That's strange." Sara didn't seem like the type to be one that would be quiet during a major shoot out, she was getting a bad feeling, the kind of feeling doctor's get when they know a patient is going bad.

"Yeah, Sara is a little too curious for her own good." he mumbled, thinking that the doctor hadn't heard his last words.

"Thanks, I'll see you later." she walked back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her as she walked over to her patient.

"Mr Stokes, I think we might have a problem, we need to get out of here and now." she looked over at Nick who was giving her a 'you got to be kidding 'look.

"What?" Nick was curious as to what was going on in the house.

She flipped the lock to the main door and the door to her bedroom, she knew that her patient was in danger,"I can't explain it but the man Jim brought here is not the man Jim thinks he is, I feel he has done something to your friends." she reached over and disconnected the IV, then drained the foley catheter and removed it.

"What man?" he asked, confused as to what had taken place since he had been out hours ago, he looked at his watch seeing that it was late.

Nick gathered the files, and Dr Roberts helped him get his clothes on, hoping that she was wrong."Here, put this jacket on, it's probably getting cold outside."

"Did you see anybody else out there?" he asked wondering how he would be able to get out of the barred room.

"Nobody, it's dead silent, I got the feeling he was waiting for someone to get here." she was worried,terrified for her patient and for herself.

"Jim would of never brought anybody here that he didn't trust one-hundred percent, he wouldn't put us in danger, I've seen him put his own life on the line too many times." Nick had to think but the drugs and the pain in his shoulder and chest were hampering his ability to concentrate in his normal capacity.

"What if he is like the rest,one of the men who have been hired to get to you. Somebody with a lot of power and ability to ensure they wouldn't get into trouble, he would have to be in control." Dr Roberts was thinking out loud but Nick was listening.

"Dammit, I think I know who it is." he spoke it out loud, but suddenly his world started to explode around him, the walls splintering in the room. An explosion that rocked the foundation of the house.

"Shit!" he yelled,his own body now flat on the floor, he tried to focus his vision, attempting to see where Dr Roberts had gone, knowing he had to try to get her out of danger.

The room they were standing in just seconds before was now in total darkness,a feel of wetness to his head and face evidence that he hadn't come away from the explosion unscathed."Dr Roberts, where are you?" he called out, loud enough for her to respond, she was standing within a few feet of him seconds ago, but he was met with dead silence.

Pieces of the ceiling were falling on him and he shielded himself with his good arm,trying to feel around the floor for his doctor, the smell of smoke filtering in the room.

He reached out to see if he could touch the woman who had risked her life for him, he needed to find her and get her out of the room.

He heard a low groan, his hand now touching something soft, Dr Roberts was underneath a few ceiling boards, he pushed them out of the way and pulled her into his good arm, the smoke in the room starting to make his lungs burn, he was coughing without a breath.

"Dammit, this isn't happening." he muttered to himself, wondering when the next blast would come, trapped in a room, their death room. The oxygen would soon explode if the fire got closer to them, he had to find a way out.

He felt behind him, the closet, hadn't Warrick told him to go in the closet? He laid Dr Roberts body down gently on the floor and reached out to find the door handle, "Found it!" he spoke it as if he was letting her know that he was making progress, he then opened the door,"Okay Warrick, what do I do now?" he asked the question out loud again but Warrick was nowhere around,"Okay, I guess I'm on my own." he felt around the closet and pushed against the wall, it suddenly gave way, a small room was on the other side.

He crawled back out into the bedroom and grabbed the doctor with his good arm and drug her into the room, he was breathless when he had her safe within the metal room, a safe room, he then closed the closet door and felt around for a light, his hand hit a switch and the room was lit.

He reached over and secured the door, a latch and bolt device.

He turned, immediately he saw why the doctor was unable to respond,she had a large gash to the side of her head,his guilt resurfaced at all the people had suffered for him, to protect him from the man they had all trusted.

"Okay, I'm here Warrick, are our friends okay? Talk to me man! I need you!" he yelled out ,tears streaming down his face."Damn, damn, damn." he felt that his whole world was coming apart, his friends probably dead. He leaned his head against the wall, he could hear voices, unfamiliar voices, he had to get moving, he had to find a way out.

**Yeah..well I need to know if you like it or not...a stopping point for today...but if you talk to me...maybe more tonight??**


	30. Chapter 30

_**For My Friend Warrick**_

_No do they do not belong to me...wish they do though._

_**Hopefully this will fill in some missing blanks!**_

**The Safehouse**

**Earlier that night**

Sara had made her way to the basement, a separate part of the basement than where Gregg had made his lab, this place was huge, she thought to herself, it was decorated in elaborate furniture and carpet, with paintings that were easily worth thousands.

She was about to walk back upstairs when something caught her attention, a footprint leading to a wall then disappearing, "That 's odd."

She walked over to the wall and started pressing, she had seen this before in the case with the man who liked being babied, so she continued looking for the way out, suddenly the wall opened and she almost fell ,the wall led outside,she looked around, the backyard was like a fortress, walled in like a fort.

"Wow ,this is so cool." seeing how exciting it would be for a kid or any adult, Nick and Gregg came to mind immediately.

A thunder of bullets rang through the yard, she barely had time to get inside and away from the wall which quickly closed.

She was about to go back into the main house when the door slammed shut, locking her inside the room. She was trapped,looking around she felt as if someone was watching her every move, someone else was in the house beside the team and Dr Roberts.

**Upstairs after the shooting**

**Earlier in the night**

"Where's Sara?" Grissom,noticing for the first time that the woman he loved was missing.

"I thought she was in the room with you and Catherine," Jim replied seeing that they weren't all accounted for,"Who saw her last?"

"I guess, I did,she said something about exploring the house." Grissom started towards the back of the old house, she couldn't have been in the basement, Gregg would have seen her, surely.

"If she heard the shots she would have come back here, evidently either she didn't hear the shots or was unable to respond." Brass commented, pulling out his weapon,"Grayson, tell your men we have a missing woman, Sara Sidle." Brass instructed his friend.

"I don't have any door alarms or window alarms going off so she has to be inside." Grayson shouted back to Brass.

"Sara!" Grissom shouted her name through the house.

"She didn't have a gun did she?" Brass asked, already knowing the answer.

"No." Grissom answered, knowing that Sara was too stubborn for her own good.

They walked through the house, opening doors that led to more rooms and seeing that Sara was nowhere in sight.

Riley looked over at Grissom,"Is it like her to just disappear like this?"

Brass and Grissom looked at each other and smiled, answering simultaneously,"Yes."

"She is sort of a rouge cop too,like Warrick was or so I hear." she commented, then suddenly realizing that the men were probably still grieving his death,"Sorry."

"Let's leave Warrick out of this, Sara is her own person, she likes to explore her surroundings." Grissom defended Sara.

Riley nodded her head and attempted to understand the relationship between the two CSI's. Evidently there was something romantic, she wondered how long it had been going on, months, years? Regulations had evidently been broken and that is why they no longer worked together, or was she just jumping to conclusions, either way, she disapproved, work was work, regardless."

"Hey. I think I found something!" Brass was looking at a stairway that led to a door, it was locked ,"Hey Sara, are you in there?" Brass shouted at the door, a knock came back,"Guess she is."

He reached down and unlocked the door and opened it,"Sara are you okay?"

"I'm fine but we have a problem, somebody else is in this house and they are watching us, pointing to the camera hidden on the ceiling." Grissom,Sara, Riley and Brass now standing in the room, suddenly the door slammed again, locking them all in the room.

"Guess I should have told you sooner, someone locked me in here." Sara's dry humor ignored as the men attempted to open the door.

"Stand back!" Brass ordered as he took a couple shots at the lock but it didn't budge, the door solid, the lock unbreakable."Damn, I feel as if I'm in a old Murder She Wrote episode." he remarked as he started looking around.

"Good news boys, the wall does open to the outside but there is a lot of gunfire out there, guess they thought I was escaping." she gave Gil her trademark smirk.

"Okay, anybody have a phone?" Brass asked seeing the situation had a simple answer.

"No reception, it's blocked. I've tried for hours so if you want, you can give it a try too." she sat back down in her chair looking up at the camera and giving it the middle finger.

Grissom could not help but to smile, she was someone to contend with.

Riley just took in the character of the woman in love with the supervisor.

"Well, we could always see if we can dig a hole in the floor." Brass remarked seeing that they were trapped, wondering silently if his friend had anything to do with what was happening.

"If we're down here then that leaves Gregg, Catherine and Nick upstairs with the doctor and Grayson. Want to take a guess who the bad guy is right now?" he gave them a look of concern.

**Gregg's make-shift lab**

**After the shooting**

Gregg ran downstairs, excited that Nick was finally awake, "Catherine, we did it, he's awake!" he shouted into the lab as he ran down the steps,"Catherine?" noticing immediately that she was gone, "Guess she went to get a cup of coffee." he answered himself, looking around his basement turned lab.

He started to run the tests on the cultures, seeing that the sputum was at it's twenty-four hour period. He pulled out the petri dish and swabbed the inside placing it on the slide,then sticking it underneath the microscope.

He was about to replace the ear phones back in his ears when he heard what sounded like someone knocking. He looked around but didn't see anything but it continued and it got his attention.

"Hey who's there?" he called out, wondering who was behind the stone wall. He placed his hands on the wall when suddenly it moved, "Hello?" he called, feeling a little bit afraid without his gun, it was lying beside the microscope.

"Gregg? I'm back here!" Catherine shouted out.

Gregg moved the wall some more then he saw her,"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, concerned for his boss.

"I'm good, but that was one heck of a step into a room. I leaned against the wall and it gave way,I've been yelling for a while now." Catherine was standing in a room similar to the living room where the files were located, the walls lined with paintings and expensive decorations."Whoever owns this place sure has trust problems."

What do you mean Catherine?" Gregg was curious, the room was absolutely stunning.

Pointing towards the ceiling, a camera lens could be spotted,"Who did Jim say owned this house?" she asked, not remembering Brass saying a name.

"Don't think he said, but whoever it was has money, lots of money." Gregg's reflexes were not quick enough as the wall closed again, his gun left on the other side.

"Did you bring your gun?" he asked as he pounded against the wall.

"I always have my gun Gregg, you never know when it might come in handy." she too also pushing against the wall,attempting to get it to open again, but to no avail, the wall would not budge,"We're trapped."

"Maybe it was a trap all along, maybe the person who owns this house is a part of the bigger picture." she glanced over at Gregg who seemed preoccupied with other walls. "What are you doing Gregg?" she asked as she noticed another wall starting to budge.

"Finding a way out of here." feeling frustrated that they had been tricked.

A sudden blast shook the room, causing both Catherine and Gregg to fall to their feet.

"What the hell was that?" Catherine asked has she got back to her feet.

"A reason to get out of here." Gregg replied as he found a small flashlight in his pocket.

Catherine gave him a quizzical look.

"You carry your gun, I carry my flashlight." he smiled and opened the the already partially opened wall, they needed to find a way out, they needed to get to Nick.

**Safehouse**

**Inside the locked Room**

They were all looking for another way out of the room, pushing on walls and pressing anything that looked like a way to open a secret passage.

"I think this is hopeless." Riley commented, seeing that Brass and Sara had already given up and were looking at the wall that led outside, it would be a risk.

Grissom was still walking around the room, observing,taking in the complexity of the room and its features,"You know I use to know someone who collected art, but it was stolen, actually this very piece was taken from his house. Our lab recovered it but then it disappeared while it was in our custody." He turned around to Jim,"Odd isn't it?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Very odd actually." Brass remarked.

"Jim, who did you say owned this house?" Grissom asked as the hosue shook. Knocking him to the floor and the rest of the people in the room also.

"Looks like I just got my answer." Grissom quipped as he brushed the plaster from his hair.

"Look!" Sara shouted, "A new door." the wall had opened with the blast, they all stood and entered, Grissom pulling out his flashlight.

"Looks like a labyrinth of tunnels." Grissom remarked as he took a look around the long tunnel, which seemed to connect with others."

"I sure hope that they're no rats in here.I hate rats."feeling as if he was walking into some Indiana Jones movie, he walked in after Grissom with Riley and Sara following.

**Nick's Bedroom**

**Present Time**

"Okay, I'm here Warrick, are our friends okay? Talk to me man! I need you!" he yelled out ,tears streaming down his face."Damn, damn, damn." he felt that his whole world was coming apart, his friends probably dead.

He leaned his head against the wall, he could hear voices, unfamiliar voices, he had to get moving, he had to find a way out.

Nick moved around the small room searching for anything that would aid him in their escape from his now deemed purgatory. The smell of fire and smoke seeping through into the room, he needed to get the doctor out of the room. He needed to get himself out of the room.

Nick 's hand fell on a small nob, it didn't seem like much at first sight but when he pulled it, the floor opened, he quickly grabbed Dr Roberts and started down the stairs, he at first had trouble keeping her weight held up but the adrenaline soon kicked in when the building rocked again, he was pushed against the wall, but he held on to the woman who had saved his life.

He followed the stairs down as far as they went, he needed a flashlight, the light of the room fading into darkness, when the stairs ended, he needed a break, his breathing labored and he was having audible wheezing. He gently placed the doctor on the floor, making sure she was still breathing, she was, but he didn't know for how long.

He pushed himself forward,picking up the doctor and placing her over his good shoulder,his bad shoulder protesting any movement right now.

He needed a light, he felt as if he might be walking into spiders and rats but it was rodent free and bug free, a well kept escape route,whoever had built this house had kept it up, had taken painstaking efforts at making it safe,someone with a lot of money evidently.

"I need your help! Anytime Warrick!" he shouted, hoping Warrick would come to assist him, tell him where to go next. No Warrick though, he felt alone and he felt sick, but he had a job to accomplish. He needed to talk to Ecklie, he knew the truth, now he needed to talk to someone who would believe him, but he needed evidence, something more than a theory.

A blown up house would leave very few clues and the house that was there, was definitely not there anymore. He continued through the tunnel, the only light was that from his watch, it was a wonder the good doctor had allowed him to keep it on,she was a stickler for anything fun or cool. He felt guilty for having a bad thought about the good doctor,"Sorry Karen." He muttered, just wanting to hear the sound of a voice right now, even his own.

He finally came to the end of the tunnel, there was a ladder that led straight up, but to where?

He again laid the doctor down, propping her against the wall, she was still totally out of it, his concern for her was overwhelming his ability to think, or was it his own head wound that was causing the problem? He needed to get her some help.

He looked at the ladder and knew he was in for a problem, first of all he didn't know where the ladder would lead him ,into a burning building, a sewer or outside to his enemy, it would be a chance he would have to take.

Second, he had to climb it with one arm,this wouldn't be good. He could barely walk and now he had to climb, this was priceless, if only Warrick could see him now.

He started up the thin ladder, putting one foot up then another, holding onto the bars with one hand, what would have taken ten minutes took twenty.

When he reached the top he could hear what sounded like traffic, the metal lid covered the hole, the only way out, so he knew if he fell, he would certainly die.

So he needed to push off the heavy metal lid with his good arm and hold on to the ladder with his bad arm, it should go perfectly, he laughed inside at the thought of his impending death.

"Okay Warrick, I could sure your help anytime man." he spoke out loud, the lid shifted and he almost lost his grip, his right foot coming off the bar but he quickly recovered, he felt a few stitches rip in his arm,"Damn that hurt!" he caught his breath and continued to slowly move the lid until he saw lights from above.

As he carefully stuck his head out he could see lights and an underpass down below, he would need help to get the doctor to the top, he could not do it on his own.

He looked around, he had at least walked two to three miles in the tunnel,but he could still see the smoke in the distance, the house of refuge had become a den of death, his friends were gone. His only reason to press on was to get help for Dr Roberts and to get Warrick's real killer.

He pushed himself up on the ground,using his right hand and his feet, his only thought was that he had to get help for his doctor.

He made his way to his feet, he needed to see if he could make it to the road. He glanced down the hole, he needed to find it when he returned, he looked around and found some brush and piled it high, it exhausted his already abused body.

"Okay, I was never a scout but I think I could find this place again with this marker." speaking to himself,the loss of his friends weighing on him heavily. He turned and headed for the main road, he would bring back help.

He steadied himself heading in the direction of the lights, the homeless community, the people society had abandoned,crowded underneath the underpass, nobody paying him much attention as he came up to the area, he was about to ask for help but his legs gave way and he fell to the ground, he was unable to stay awake, exhaustion and his illness winning.

An older African American woman with gray hair pulled back in a bun, her clothes tattered, spotted the man and walked over, he was hurt, he needed help."Marvin, come here, we need to help this man, he's sick."

Marvin, an older man with a salt and pepper beard walked over and eyed the younger man,"Looks like trouble to me." he didn't want to fool with the man,his nice clothes stained with blood a sure sign that someone was after him, probably the police.

"He's hurt and we don't turn anybody away here, so help me get him in my shelter, I'll take care of him." the woman who seemed to have some pull amongst the homeless directed.

The older man was hesitant at first, then he motioned for help, he would do what she said, but he didn't have to like it.

The men picked up the injured man and carried him into the makeshift shelter, it was clean, and well organized for a house of cardboard.

**Okay guys, because you are great and I do need to get some major thank you notes out tomorrow...and I will...I do appreciate you, and to those without private messaging...I really do appreciate you too!!**


	31. Chapter 31

_**For My Friend Warrick**_

_No they do not belong to me...wish they did though._

_What? Today is my birthday,so I am updating tonight so I can celebrate tomorrow. No, I will not tell my age...it will be a bigger mystery than who actually killed Warrick!_

_I am also attempting to update Chicken Pox too._

_**The homeless community**_

_**The next morning**_

The man was feverish, his skin warm to touch and he had a bad cough, one that she knew needed attention.

"Hey, you need to wake you son, you're sick and I need to get you to a hospital or the health department." the older woman concerned for the health of the stray who had wondered in late last night.

Nick heard the voice but was tired, too tired to respond, except he knew he had to get the doctor some help, he pried open eyes that were matted with drainage and looked up at the woman,"My friend, she needs help."

The woman looked shocked that the man could talk,"What friend son, you came here alone."

"In the hole, she's in the hole." Nick couldn't stay awake long, his body in a state of shock,shivers causing him to almost look as if he were convulsing.

"Maybe the police can help, they stop by here all the time." thinking it might be a good idea, although most of the people living in the community were afraid of the police.

"No, no police. Can't trust, don't trust police." His voice stuttering through the shivers.

She picked up her blanket and covered the young man, he looked as if he were about to die, the wound to his head needed medical attention, the wound in his shoulder had a draining tube,evidently he had been in the hospital recently and the congestion in his lungs was a sure sign of a bad infection.

"Miss Mary!" a sweet voice called out, she covered the man and walked out her makeshift house.

"Hey sweetie, how are you this morning?" she walked over on feeble legs and gave the beautiful volunteer a hug.

"I'm doing just great, I was on my way to the church to pick up supplies to distribute and I thought I might stop by and see if you have any needs." the volunteer took in the tired appearance of the little old woman.

"You are the best volunteer we've ever had, I'm going to miss you when you graduate from school, you're going to make a great social worker honey." she smiled at the red head, she had the most beautiful blue eyes and such a sweet smile, she had been a God send.

The young lady let out a laugh,"You're going to make my head swell. Can you think of anything you might need in particular that I can get for you?"

"As a matter of fact there a few things I'm going to need, one of our own is sick, so I'll make a list, I definitely will need a jar of Soltice and a box of Epsom salts." She looked into the tent and decided a bottle of Tylenol and bandages should be on the list too.

"Do you want me to take him to the health department? I would be glad to take him, it's on my way to the church." she offered.

"I might need you to take him tomorrow if he ain't any better, he'll need something to keep him warm though, it sure was cold out here last night." she gave it some thought for a few minutes." Get me a hot water bottle or two, that should do the trick, maybe an extra blanket.

"Hey, I ran by the laundry mat this morning, I think I have an extra blanket in my car." the volunteer walked over to her parked car and popped the trunk, she looked around for a minute and took out a hot pink blanket.

Miss Mary smiled, the woman was a saint, she thought to herself as she watched the woman approach with a huge smile on her face."I love it, its so nice and thick. It will be perfect." she took the offered blanket and placed it inside her boxed home.

The volunteer attempted to take a look inside at the sick person but her view was blocked by the draped pieces of cloth over the door ,used to give the older woman her privacy.

She came back out with a piece of paper, she had made a list of what she needed, the woman took care of the community, she new the needs of everybody and she never asked for anything unless it was really needed.

"I'll be back this afternoon." She turned to leave but then hesitated,"Do you think your friend could use some warm soup?" she asked, working at the restaurant enabled her to get leftovers for the homeless, the manager was a great guy.

"Mmmm. Sounds good, maybe a little to share with the rest of the people too?" she didn't want to sound greedy but the soup the volunteer would bring was perfect on cold nights.

"Sure, I'll be back in a while." Giving the woman a big hug, she entered her car and left, the men all waved as she drove away.

Marvin walked over and gave Mary a stern look,"He looks like trouble Mary, we can't have the likes of him around, we have enough problems with the police." he wanted his friend to know that it would not be tolerated.

"He'll not leave until he's better." she stood her ground.

"Or dead?" Marvin remarked then walked away, he had nothing else to say.

The woman gave him a look of disgust and went back inside to care for her charge.

**The Safehouse Tunnels**

"Gil, how long have we been down here?"Sara asked feeling as if it had been days.

"At least ten hours, maybe more. These tunnels, I think, were used for smuggling, either drugs or stolen property, maybe both." Grissom was looking around for another way out, going back was useless because they had taken so many turns.

"Hey, I hear something!" Riley shouted, they were voices coming from somewhere in the vast array of tunnels.

"What if they're the people who tried to blow us all up?" Sara asked, hoping that somehow the others had found a way to escape.

They each readied their guns, Grissom included. They aimed it at the oncoming sounds, when suddenly Jim yelled,"Hold your fire!"

Gregg and Catherine came through another tunnel door," Gil is that you?" Catherine called out.

Gil flashed his light in their direction,"Catherine, are you and Gregg okay?"

"Yeah, but I don't think Nick and the doctor made it out before the house exploded. It was so sudden." tears running down her cheeks,Sara and Riley also felt the effects of the truth, that Nick was probably dead.

"Maybe we should hope for the best, we all that know Nick is resilient." Gregg added,not wanting to give up on his friend.

"Get a check on reality Gregg, they're probably dead and we'll be next if we don't find a way out of this damn maze." Riley felt that they should deal with the here and now, not fantasy land, their friend was probably dead and so was the doctor, and their fate seemed destined for the same outcome if they didn't find a way out of the damn tunnel.

Catherine gave her a harsh look but the lack of light in the tunnel prevented her from seeing the anger on all their faces.

"We need to keep looking, there has to be a way out and the best way I believe is to keep going straight. Most tunnels have a main hallway with corridors that lead off of it, so what I would suggest is to stay on this path." Grissom started walking again, he was tired of hearing the negative thoughts, he needed to find a way out.

**The Homeless Community**

Nick lay inside the woman's cardboard home, his mind felt confused, he was having difficulty with reality, he was again starring up at Warrick."Where the hell were you Warrick when the house was being blown all to hell?"

Warrick sat down by his friend,"I won't be around much longer, it's about time you saved your own ass. I'm impressed though, you even saved the doctor, I thought you hated her for the sitter thing." his voice was teasing.

"I owed her, she saved my life several times but she's in the hole and I can't get her up the ladder." he wanted to help her but he was unable to get help. He took a look around, he was somewhere different, but he couldn't tell exactly where.

Warrick nodded, he knew the woman had saved his friend," Nick, you need to hang on man, it's not over yet."

Nick looked at the apparition and shook his head,"I'm tired Rick, this is some hard shit, I never thought it would be this difficult to get justice."

"Neither did I Nicky, neither did I." he bent down and smiled close to his friend's face,"Hang on Nicky. I love you man, you've always been like a brother to me,I'm going to miss that."

"Stop it Warrick before you make me kiss you." He gave Warrick a big Texan grin.

"Nicky, that sure is tempting but I need to go and take care of something, hold that thought though." he stood and disappeared from the cardboard box, Nick closed his eyes, feeling he had just had another dream, but it was a good dream, Warrick was still with him.

**The tunnel**

Her head hurt and that was all that she was aware of at the moment, she opened her eyes to see darkness, how did she get here? With her limited vision and her aching head she took a look around, wondering where the hell she was and where the hell was her patient?

She attempted to stand, seeing that the place was in total darkness, she almost stumbled again as she felt he wall and made her way down the tunnel, she never glanced up to see the ladder or the man hole.

Pushing her self along the wall she kept going, hoping that she would find a door that would lead her out of the darkness, her eyes having enough problems adjusting with her evident head injury, she needed help soon, a head trauma was nothing to mess with,especially with all the symptoms she was experiencing.

"Help!" she shouted, hoping to get the attention of anybody, except for the persons who had blown the house up. The house was blown up wasn't it? She was finding it difficult to put thoughts together and nausea was starting to overwhelm her, along with severe dizziness.

She definitely had a concussion and if the pain was any indication she probably was in need of some IV Mannitol right now to decrease the swelling in her brain.

She walked for what seemed like forever,but now she needed to sit down, but she also knew that she had to get out of the tunnel, she wouldn't survive if she didn't find a way out soon. Her unsteady legs stopped, causing her to slide down the wall, she needed to take a break."I need to take a nap, I'm so tired." she closed her eyes and passed out.

"Hey, Nicky worked too hard saving you from that fire lady, you can't give up now." Warrick stood over the lady, her eyes opened just enough to see a green eyed man starring down at her, he was so bright but she was unable to keep her eyes open,consciousness left her and she fell into darkness.

**Further up the Tunnel**

Riley and Gregg were ahead of the group, checking anything that resembled a door or a weak area in the wall, it was looking hopeless.

Suddenly a bright light was seen in front of them, it was a good ways up the tunnel but they all saw it, a possible way out.

Without saying a word they started walking a little bit faster towards the light, each hoping it was their way out, they needed to find their friend.

Brass, who had been quiet for a while, was contemplating his new friend's death. He silently grieved for her and for Nick,who always was more like a son than Ellie was or would ever be a daughter,the pain ripped through him, another funeral to attend, possibly two, it was going to be difficult.

As they approached the light it started to get dim, but they could see a body against the wall, Catherine and Grissom ran towards it,hoping that it was Nick but when they approached they saw the doctor, she was out cold, lying up against the wall, Nick nowhere in sight.

"Where did the light go?" Gregg asked, looking around to see where it might of emanated from and if it could lead to a way out of the dark tunnel or possibly to Nick.

Riley and Gregg continued to look for the source of the light as Grissom,Jim and Catherine assisted the doctor, the head wound evident, the blast must of hit Nick's room.

"I think I have something!" Gregg shouted, Sara running up front to assist.

"What Gregg?" she asked, excited by the possibility that Gregg had found a way out of the dark,drafty maze of tunnels.

He turned a knob and a door opened with stairs that lead to a new building, pipes were everywhere. He found a light switch and flipped it up, sending light into the room,what appeared to be a basement.

Jim placed his safety on his gun,then placed it back into his holster. He reached down and took Karen into his arms, she needed medical attention.

They were still anxious and very cautious as they made their way up the stairs of the basement to another door. Gregg turned the door handle, it opened to an abandoned warehouse.

"That was the strangest and most elaborate tunnel system I've ever seen." Catherine commented as she walked over and opened a large door to the outside, the sun causing her eyes to close in pain. Being exposed to the darkness for so long had caused her eyes to have a sensitivity to the bright sunlight.

Brass pulled out his cell and made a call, he needed an ambulance for Karen and for Nick if they could find him.

They all could see the black pillar of smoke and ash in the distance, the house was still smoldering almost twelve hours later.

Grissom pulled out his cell and dialed a familiar number and waited for the man to answer.

"Conrad Ecklie." the man answered. "Gil is that you?" the man's voice seemed almost panicked.

"Ecklie, I need you." Grissom needed someone he could trust, Ecklie might be many things, but he wasn't a killer.

**Okay, a good place to stop, thank goodness they are out of the tunnels, I was getting tired of writing about the dark, there are just so many adjectives to describe dark.**


	32. Chapter 32

_**For My Friend Warrick**_

_No they do not belong to me...wish they did though._

_**Thank you, thank you and thank you for the wonder birthday wishes, it was a great day!**_

"What happened here Gil?" he was more than pissed that the night team had disappeared without a word and now an explosion that nearly killed them all and possibly did kill Nick, Grayson and Grayson's team.

"I'm not for sure myself actually." the structure was now lying in a heap of ash and dust, the explosion had been effective in destroying the house completely.

Jim stood in the background drowning in his own guilt,wondering how a man like Thomas Grayson had turned into a bad guy,a man who had won the purple heart for bravery in Iraq years ago. He pondered how this related to Warrick's death or if it even had a connection.

Gregg stood alone also, feeling as if his world had just been rocked by killers and thieves. He could not shake the feeling that this was related to a mob ring,that it somehow was deep in the structure of the police department. He could not help but to ask himself if any of them were really safe.

Catherine wondered why all their hard work had been for nothing, Nick was probably dead, he was too weak to escape,but she could not help but to wonder how Dr Roberts got out of the room, she was still unconscious when the ambulance loaded her to take her to the hospital, so they had not been able to ask, but she had to know.

Sara stood off from the rest, she felt that she was no longer a part of the team, her own guilt for not staying upstairs being a force that played in her guilt. Why had she upset the boat by looking around,her discovery of the stolen property, she felt is what had led them to blowing up the house, she felt it wasn't anything to do with the mole, but about a ring of thieves.

Riley walked up to an officer and asked for a ride, watching these people grieve for someone who might not even be dead was more than she could deal with right now, she'd been in a damn dark tunnel for a day and nearly blown to pieces, she wanted to find out,"Why?"

**The Homeless Community**

Mary rolled her charge over, she knew what she had to do. He was a very sick man. She started taking off his clothing until he was down to his boxers, then she turned him onto his stomach, she needed to hear what his chest sounded like.

She placed her ear to his chest and started listening, hearing the sounds of congestion throughout his chest except for the lower area of his left lung. She took her hands and cupped it, then began to tap firmly against his sensitive skin, she needed to loosen the congestion that had collected in that area of his chest.

He let out a soft moan, she knew it was due to the tapping but she continued, knowing what had to be done, her father and mother had taught her how to administer home medicine when she was a child, her father had never went to a doctor his whole life, born at home, he lived to be a hundred and her mother a hundred and one.

"You need to take some deep breaths, if you can." instructing her patient who seemed to be unaware of his surroundings, in shock from whatever had occurred prior to him showing up at their camp.

He had been through hell, evidenced by his head injury, shoulder wound and his lung infection, along with multiple cuts and bruises. Where had the man been?

When the volunteer returned with the needed supplies she would treat the rest of his problems. The sun was hot during the day but when it set, the night air was cold and she would need to keep him as warm as she could possibly keep him so his condition would not worsen.

She finished with the tapping and placed him on his side, he would start to cough soon, now that the congestion was loosened he would start to cough it up, she needed to get him something to spit up in so the infection would not spread to the others.

She took a long, thin cloth and placed it over him, leaving him to rest, it wouldn't be for long though, she needed to treat his head and shoulder injuries before they got worse.

**The Safehouse**

"I need a ride." she told the officer, I want to ride the length of this road, I'm looking for someone." Riley wanted to see if Nick might have escaped and made it out of the tunnel.

"This road is a dead end, it ends at an old abandoned underpass, they were going to build a road to bypass Vegas but evidently ran out of funds,now it's just an area where all the homeless live until the government decides to get enough money to finish it or tear it down I guess." the officer explained as they got into his car.

" A good place for someone who needs help not to get it." she spoke to herself, she just needed to check out everything.

Grissom stood with Ecklie watching his newest CSI get in the car with the officer and start driving down the road, she had made the cognitive leap too.

**LVPD Station**

The man walked into the station, he needed to know what had happened, again not wanting to look suspicious.

"Cavaliere, can I talk to you a minute?" he shouted attempting to get the attention of the man.

"Hey, I heard the news on the television, Tom Grayson's house blew up."

Chris gave the man a look of suspicion, why would he have such an interest in a blown up house, it basically happened everyday in Vegas, unless there was something he didn't know.

"Yeah I think I heard something about it this afternoon, some of the officers responded, other than that I really don't know anything." he was in a hurry, he was due in court for a late meeting.

"Any injuries, casualties?" really he meant did Nick Stokes die, but that would sound too eager to ask that question.

"I think there are some people missing but other than that I really don't know, listen I'm late for court, I'll see you later." he walked off wondering why someone in the man's position wouldn't know more than himself.

**Desert Palm Hospital**

Dr Roberts returned from having her MRI, the CT of her head had been negative but they were waiting for the the MRI results, it was more detailed, a better diagnostic tool.

She laid with her head slightly elevated in the ER cubicle, they had started an IV and stitched her head after cleaning out the wound.

Brass stood at the door looking in, almost afraid to speak to the woman whom he had found so much ease talking with just days before. He gave her a sideways grin and shook his head,"You look like you just lost a ten bout round with Lennox Lewis." he joked as he walked over to her bed.

Her bruised and swollen eyes looked up to meet sadness,"He's dead, isn't he?" she knew the answer but she needed to hear it from Jim, the surrogate father for the man whom she had come to really care about, who probably risked his life saving hers.

"They're still looking right now, so far only one body recovered and that was Grayson's." he sat down and took her hand and looked into her tired and bruised face and gave her a sweet smile,"It's been a rough few days."

She nodded, it had been a very difficult few days indeed. She raised her other hand to her head,feeling the heavy bandages and got very quiet for a few minutes,"I think I heard something in the tunnel, I think I saw a man but he didn't look like Nick, in fact it was probably just my imagination or the head injury causing me to see things." wondering to herself if she in fact had seen a man.

Brass sat up a little bit straighter in his chair, this intrigued him,"It wasn't Nick?" he asked.

"No, I wish that I could say it was Nick Stokes but it was a man with bright green eyes and dark skin, I thought he was fussing at me to get up and move my ass, evidently I was pissing him off." she shrugged her shoulder, "I did have a pretty good head injury going on at the time. It probably means nothing"

Brass took out his phone and stood, "I think it could mean a lot." he dialed a number and stepped out of the room,he had to go back to the tunnels to look.

Dr Roberts looked as the man left the room, the man she had fallen for,maybe she had given him a clue to Nick's whereabouts. She closed her eyes and drifted off, she just wanted to rest for a while.

**The Safe house**

Ecklie answered his phone but quickly handed it to Grissom, the older man giving him a confused look,"Grissom." he spoke into the cellphone.

"Gil, Nick might still be in the tunnels, from what Karen just told me she heard a man talking to her, she described Warrick's eyes starring down at her. Maybe it's a sign Gil." he was drawing at straws on this one, but a dark man with green eyes in a tunnel telling her to basically to move her ass, was more than just a little coincidental.

"How would she know Warrick,they never met. She probably remembered his picture at the funeral home or from the news."Grissom raised his hand and rubbed at his head, it had been a long time since he had slept,it felt like days.

"Jim, she has a head injury she probably imagined it." coming across as a little too blunt.

"She described him as a green eyed, dark man who was yelling at her to get up and move her ass through the tunnel,I know,I don't believe in ghosts either but when someone has a head injury they've been known to see things, maybe she saw Warrick." Brass was jumping at straws but he still had a gut feeling to go with the tunnels.

"Jim, you need to sleep,I think you've been awake too long. Nick is more than likely dead, we have to accept that. Now all we need to do is to find his body so we can put him to rest, that's if nobody comes along and tries to steal it from the mortuary." he wanted to end the call, he needed to assist in finding Nick's body.

"I'm ordering a team to go down in the tunnels and look,I'm not ready to give up yet," Jim closed his phone and headed out the door, he would come back later and see Karen,first he had to look for Nick.

**The Homeless Community**

He was coughing, he felt that his head was about to split from coughing so hard. Mary sat beside him,holding his head in her lap, he was sick and with her tiny feeble hands she rubbed the cool cloth over his head and upper body, dipping it into a clean can of cool water and squeezing it out when the old piece of cloth became too warm.

"Your name?" he asked between harsh coughs, her kind and gentle manner so comforting to his beaten and sick body.

"They call me Ms Mary,and what might I ask is yours young man?" her hand gently wiping his fevered brow, a small smile on her face.

"They call me Nicky." his breathe was still labored,he closed his eyes, he was so tired,the coughing fits had taken a lot out of him but he had coughed up a lot of phlegm, though he did feel that he could breathe a little better now.

The sound of his quietened breathing and seeing that his long eyelashes were not going to open again for a while, she would allow him rest.

Mary held him for a few more minutes after he fell asleep, she would have to redress him soon, the night air would make him chill, his fever could rise if she didn't keep the shivers away.

As she laid his head on the make-shift pillow she was interrupted by Martin's voice,"I think we have a problem,the police are here. I told you he was trouble." he scowled at the little woman,frustration in his voice and in his abrupt movements as he swung the curtain back together, he then stood and left the door of the tent.

She grabbed her shaw and covered the man, she would need to talk to them herself.

**Okay, the writer needs some feedback from the readers, I don't want to prolong this story if you guys are ready for it to end but if we need to go forward then I need to know now... it could be a turning point for Nick.**

**Also this a rough draft but decided to post it anyways but will go back and look for errors. Thanks!**


	33. Chapter 33

_**For My Friend Warrick**_

_No they do not belong to me...wish they did though._

As she laid his head on the make-shift pillow she was interrupted by Martin's voice,"I think we have a problem,the police are here. I told you he was trouble." he scowled at the little woman,frustration in his voice and in his abrupt movements as he swung the curtain back together, he then stood and left the door of the tent.

She grabbed her shaw and covered the man, she would need to talk to them herself.

She stepped out to find Martin talking to an officer and a woman. She thought they seemed suspicious but she remembered what Nick had told her, no police, for her not to trust them, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Can we help you?" Mary asked as she walked over to the two officers.

Riley looked around then decided to come right out and ask,"We're looking for an officer, he's a criminologist. His name is Nick Stokes and he's missing."

"You have a picture of him,? A lot of people come here, some don't stay as long as others." Mary was taught not to lie but ain't really lying when you really don't answer the question.

"No,I don't but I can get one and bring it back, he's about five foot eleven, brown hair and brown eyes,. He's also got a left shoulder wound." Riley felt that was enough information for right now.

Martin looked at Mary and shrugged his shoulders,knowing that Mary wasn't a liar but evidently she was willing to protect this man, maybe even find out why he was afraid of his own people.

"If you don't mind we would like to take a look around." Riley wasn't ready to give up, she was at the end of the road and wanted to find her team member.

"Listen, this is our private stuff and unless you want to make a lot of people mad, I would suggest you take our word that your man isn't around and leave." Martin suddenly showing more support for Mary and her protectiveness of the man in her makeshift home.

The officer nodded and he motioned for Riley to get back into the car,he felt there was nothing there worth getting in a fight over,nothing to report back to his boss.

As the police car drove away the woman walked back towards her home but looked back at Martin,"Ask Chester if he has any home brew and hard rock candy I can use to make some medicine, I need to make some cough medicine for my charge." White lightening made excellent cough medicine, her father had used it many times during her childhood, it always worked.

Martin nodded, he knew Chester liked his home brew and he would only part with it for a price but Mary was a good bargainer, he knew she could get honey from a bear.

"Tell him I have some warm soup on the way, Chester loves soup as much as he loves his grocery cart." his weakness was definitely food. She was about to go and check on Nicky when she heard another car pull up, it was the volunteer.

"I'm back." the woman called out to Mary.

"I'm so glad to see that you made it back, it was getting late and I was getting a little worried." Mary walked over to the car to assist in getting her supplies.

"The restaurant was out of soup so I had to go home and make some myself, it's not fancy but homemade chicken noodle soup will do the trick when you're not feeling well." the volunteer explained as she unloaded the boxes from her Tahoe, she had brought everything she had asked for and so much more,"I even brought several boxes of crackers to go with your soup.

"You're going to make Martin think you're in love with him , he loves crackers with his soup." she giggled and continued to look for her supplies.

"Miss Mary, I put your supplies separate, I knew you were caring for a sick person so I added a few things I thought you might could use, a thermometer, some rubbing alcohol, Kleenex, and much more, I hope it helps." she handed the box to Martin and closed the back door of the truck.

"Ms Annie, thank you so very much. I'm going to get a bowl of this soup and give it to him now. You are the sweetest person I know." she reached over and gave her a hug,"I really do appreciate you." she whispered in her ear,the kindness of this one person could make the difference if her charge lived or died.

"Ms Mary, I'm serious if you want me to take him to the doctor I will." she was worried about anybody sick out in the elements, especially because the nights were cold.

"I promise, if he isn't doing better tomorrow then I will allow you to take him to the doctor. He's a stubborn man." she smiled as she watched Martin set the box of medical supplies outside her makeshift house.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." she got into her car and was getting ready to leave when she waved for Mary to come to her window.

"I almost forgot, I brought you some fresh eggs from the store, I thought it might be a treat for in the morning. There is some powered milk in one of the boxes" she gave the little woman the bag with two dozen eggs inside.

"You sure are spoiling us Annie, we are so blessed to have you for our friend." she took the offered eggs and gave her a squeeze on the arm, she knew exactly what she could do with the eggshells.

She stood back and waved at the woman as she turned around and headed back down the road, so thankful for such a kind hearted soul.

She walked back to her makeshift house again and entered. She needed to redress the man so that he would stay warm through the night, taking a look inside the packed box she found the thermometer and took it out of its case and gently placed it in his mouth,she didn't say a word, he was sleeping.

When she took it out she read the small numbers, his temperature was down to one hundred point two degrees, she wondered how high it had been earlier, when his skin felt so warm. She placed his shirt over his head and then each arm, careful with the infected left shoulder. She then put his jeans back on and his socks. She took the blanket and doubled it so that he could have something warm to wrap up in during the night.

After about an hour he awakened to the smell of food, his stomach seemed to want something to eat, he hadn't had an appetite in days. He looked around to see that it was getting dark, the fire outside casting shadows on the box ,the sounds of people talking outside.

He sat up the best he could given his weakened condition, days of being sick was making his toned body look thin. He was startled when a voice spoke to him from the door.

"You're awake!" Mary was a little surprised given his condition.

"Where am I?" he asked, as he rested his head on the back of the wall only to see if he applied any pressure it would move, so he stopped his actions immediately.

"You're safe and with a group of people who want to take care of you." she smiled as she disappeared but quickly reappeared with a bowl of soup and a plastic spoon.

"What is it?" he asked as he looked at the woman with some suspicion.

"Soup, the social worker, our volunteer, made it, she is so sweet, she takes care of us,and she gave me some medicine for you." sitting the soup down on a small box and smiling as she pulled out a litany of medical supplies.

"Aren't I the lucky one." he grumbled at the thought of more medical intervention.

She took a seat beside her charge and looked at him,"You're a very sick man and probably belong in a hospital and you're near belonging in a mortuary with that lung infection, so you need to stop your grumbling and eat that soup."

He nodded, he had been taught better manners but he just didn't feel very good and his shaky hands would never be able to lift the spoon. Ms Mary understood immediately and scooted over to sit near him, taking the bowl into her hands and spooned out the soup, making sure it wasn't too hot, she fed it to him slowly, his breathing was still with some difficulty.

"This is good, she's a good cook.:" he smiled up at the woman feeding him,feeling bad about being grumpy earlier ,"Thank you." he gave her his trademark smile.

"You need to eat all you can, because I need to give you some medicine and tuck you in for the night, it sure gets cold out here when the sun goes down." she finished feeding him the soup, he ate almost half the bowl before he waved it away, she knew his stomach had been without for a while, his olive colored skin looked pale and his face gaunt, a sure indication that he had been sick for a while.

She busied herself with taking the home brew and mixing it with a pack of sugar and some hard rock candy, Chester's favorite two things to have any time of the day, "I need for you to take this medicine, it will help your cough, she poured him about two teaspoons in a small cup and gave it to him."The best way to take it, is to take one quick swallow." she instructed, knowing it was going to burn going down,holding some tissues ready just in case.

He had enjoyed the soup but he gave the small cup a stare before he lifted it to his lips, he took a quick gulp but it didn't take long for him to cough and gag, it burned his throat, his lungs and his nose, the coughing spell brought of more phlegm and he thought he would never stop but finally it subsided , he looked up the little lady with a look of fear,"Was that poison?"

She could not help but to let out a small laugh,"Chester thinks it tastes like apple juice."

"Only if it has set out in the sun for days, that was the worse tasting stuff I've ever tasted." he was winded from the coughing spell and he felt so tired.

She looked into the box and found the soltice, "I need to rub this on your chest and place something warm on it, after you take these pills, it's Tylenol." she instructed as she opened the lid to the foul smelling medicine in the bottle.

Nick took the Tylenol with a bottled water she offered, the volunteer must of brought them the bottled water and medicine too. He then lay down on the pallet and starred up at the kind woman who had taken over the task of being his doctor,she was patient and caring, he would remember her after this was over, if he lived.

Mary rubbed the soltice on his chest and then dabbed a little on his nose,"That will help you breathe better." she even put some on her nose.

He let out a laugh, the first in days,"You are a hoot little woman." he closed his tired eyes and within minutes he could feel her at his side again placing something warm on his chest but he was too tired to look, she then placed something warm at his feet, it felt comforting and he did not argue, he just wanted to sleep. Mary then placed the warm blanket over his cold body and tucked it in on the sides.

Mary continued to work on Nick, his head wound was cleaned with the alcohol and dressed with the clean bandages, she then moved to his shoulder, she had cracked a couple of eggs and fixed Chester some scrambled eggs for the home brew exchange, she took the eggs and took the membrane out of the lining and placed it over the wound in Nick's shoulder, it would help draw the infection out, that's what her father had taught her and it had worked many times., she then redressed it and cleaned his other scratches.

The camp had quietened and she finally prepared herself for sleep, it would be a long night with the sick man.

Nick awakened a few hours later feeling just as warm as he had prior to going to sleep, but he knew time had passed because his breathing felt bad again and his chest hurt, he felt the little woman moving around and then he felt gentle hands turn him over and the tapping on his chest began again, he knew he would be coughing up the nasty tasting infection from his lungs soon, just like before.

She hummed an old gospel hymn as she worked on him, the sound of her sweet voice almost lilled him back to sleep along with the gentle tapping on his back, but then he started to cough and he was rolled over and again he coughed the green foul smelling infection up into his mouth, he was wheezing and having problems with getting in a good breath, the thick phlegm stopping up his airway, then Martin appeared with a steaming pot of water and assisted Mary in placing Nick's head over it to breathe in the steam, an instant breathing treatment.

When he as able to take a deep breath in again, Mary took him and laid his head into her lap again, stroking the cool cloth over his fevered skin, the soft,gentle strokes aided his tired body to relax, he could smell the foul stench of the soltice as she reapplied it to his chest again but it worked and he was warm and he fell asleep.

Mary laid down on the other side of the makeshift home, her tired old body felt worn from caring for the man, but she was happy to take care of the sick man, she felt it was her duty as a Christian woman.

**Hey, I had to add this chapter, it will be essential later. Yes, these are some old country remedies and they are sworn by ...I don't even argue.**


	34. Chapter 34

_**For My Friend Warrick**_

_No they do not belong to me...wish they did though._

_Mary awakened to find the man was gone, he was no longer there. She stood and walked outside, Martin was standing by the fire,"Where is he?" she asked, worried that the man might have crawled off and died._

"_Don't worry Ms Mary he's fine, he wanted to check out something up in the woods, I figure he just needed to take a piss,it sure is hard taking a piss in front of you, you check out everything." Martin took a sip of coffee and gave the woman a crooked smile._

"_That ain't funny Calvin Martin. That boy isn't strong enough to be out and about yet, he is one sick little pup." she turned around to see if she could spot her charge,"If he gets hurt I'm going to blame you." her fury noted as she walked away._

_Martin let a chuckle, the woman was sure protective of her sick pups, he decided that the man had been gone too long and sit his cup down to go and check on him when he heard a rustle in the bushes._

"_Hey., is that you?" he shouted into the thick cluster of bushes._

_Nick popped his head out, "Yeah, is she awake yet?" afraid he might have scared the little woman being gone._

"_Yep and she sure is pissed with you. You might want to tell her you are going to take a leak next time." Martin grinned and picked his cup back up and took another sip of his coffee, the sun was not completely up, but it looked like a stormy day in the making._

_Nick had crawled back up to the hole, the doctor was gone, hopefully they had found her in the tunnel. He felt bad that he was unable to get her the help she needed, the guilt was overwhelming._

"_I'll get her flowers next time." He joked as he made his way over to Martin. He was still wrapped up in the bright hot pink blanket, his hair messed and he felt that he was in desperate need of a toothbrush._

"_Nick, where have you been?" her small voice now sounding like thunder in his ears._

"_Man business Ms Mary. How are you this morning?" he gave her a sweet smile._

"_Better than you'll be if you don't get in there and lay down, it's going to pour down rain today and if you don't stay warm you will be worse than you already are young man." Her crooked little finger pointing at him, she was mad._

"_Yes maam." he turned to follow Mary back into her makeshift home when he heard Martin behind him._

"_She scares me too." he laughed as he said it, hoping that the young man followed her direction, he was sick and he needed to get better._

_Nick entered the box and sat down, he actually was doing better, his breathing much better but wondered how the community of boxes would hold up if there was a storm, he was concerned for the older people and the young._

"_Here, you need to take your medicine." she handed him the liquid, he already knew what was coming next and he dreaded it, "I'll take the medicine but you need to tell me something first."_

_Mary was preparing the egg membranes for his shoulder when she looked up,"What do you need to know young man?" the lines on her face gave her a look of total concentration._

"_When it storms, where do you go for shelter." Nick was concerned for their well-being._

_His question was an honest one and he seemed very concerned,"We usually just tough it out but we might not be able to do that with you so sick, we might need to go to town or you might need to go to town,Ms Annie wants to take you to the health department this morning." she turned to see that his face was ashen pale._

"_I can't go into town yet" he shook his head,"There is a man who wants me dead, he'll go to whatever length he has to go to accomplish it, trust me. He killed my friend, maybe all of my friends, I have to make sure he pays for what he did, for what he might still do yet, he's evidently getting desperate and when he finds out I didn't die, well I don't know what his next move might be,but I don't want to risk your life or anybody else's who lives here."_

_She took in his concern but it didn't change anything, he was still too sick to be on his own, or running from a killer."Let us worry about the rain, the overpass keeps us pretty dry and well, you still need to see a doctor so I'll think of something, quit worrying and take your medicine."_

_Nick nodded and took the cough medicine she had prepared, and as usual he coughed and gagged for a long time, afterwards he needed a nap, she tucked him back into the bed, the water bottles filled with warm water, his fever low grade, his shoulder actually draining which was a good thing, she emptied the drain and placed the infectious material in an old tin can, she would give it to Martin to bury later._

_**The Tunnels**_

_They had searched all the tunnels that led through the maze that weren't effected by the fire and their exits, but no signs of Nick, he was worried that his friend was a victim of the explosion but something inside him was asking the question,'How did the doctor with her head injury make it down to the tunnel. The green eyed man that she had seen, sounded a lot like his friend Warrick.'_

_Brass walked over to the last tunnel explored, a ladder led upwards to an open hole, there was no way Nick could have made it up the stairs or could he, given the impetus to save his friend._

_He started up the ladder, and climbed the narrow steps until he reached the top, he looked out and then he saw it, Nick had left a clue, but where the hell was his friend now?_

_He made his way out of the hole and stood, the pile of brush his only clue, then he spotted it, the homeless community. He needed to talk to the people there, though they were a distrusting group of people, they would've taken in Nick, he just had that way about him,that lost puppy kind of look. He smiled to himself,Nick was definitely the heart of his team._

_He made his way down the embankment and stood at the entrance to the homeless community, he straightened his tie and walked over to the man at the fire._

"_Good morning,my name is Captain Jim Brass, with the LVPD police department, I'm looking for one of my guys." He pulled out Nick's ID badge and handed it to the man standing at the fire._

_Martin took the ID and recognized Nick's picture instantly,"He done something wrong?" _

_Jim could tell that the man recognized his friend but was apparently afraid for some reason to tell him where Nick was or even if he had seen him. He had to keep his cool and win his trust."No, but there is someone who wants to hurt him and I've been trying to prevent it, he's like a son to me."_

_Martin nodded an understanding,but he didn't know if he could trust the man who had arrived without a car,just as the man had arrived the night before. There was something about him that felt trustworthy._

_Just as Martin was about to give Jim some information, a car pulled up, it was Annie."Hey is Mary awake?" she asked, wondering who the man in the suit was and what he was doing here at the homeless community._

"_She's awake, she's busy making some breakfast." he turned to yell for the little woman when he saw a police car driving down the road."Are they with you?" Martin asked Brass as he heard a gun shot ring out._

"_Get down!" Brass yelled at the people standing around, he reached over and pulled Annie down to protect her from the onslaught of gunfire._

"_Who are they shotting at?" Martin asked as he took cover behind the wall of the underpass._

_Brass pulled out his radio and called for back-up, his team was near, his fear now was for the innocent people in the cardboard boxes."Nick." he answered,wanting the man to grasp the gravity of the situation._

_The police car pulled over on the dead end road, evidently they had heard Brass's call for help. Now they sat quiet._

"_Where's Nick Stokes? He asked Martin._

"_With Ms Mary, she's been taking care of him, he's been ill." Martin suddenly giving his trust to the man being shot at,knowing that Nick had a good reason to fear the police._

_Annie came to a sudden realization,the man who was being taken care of by Ms Mary was the man who had asked her out just days before,Nick Stokes was the very sick man. Mary's life and Nick's was a stake now, she needed to get to them, maybe get them safe."We can't wait, we need to get him out of here." Annie spoke up,not wanting the others to be in harm's way._

"_Nick!" Brass shouted, hoping that he could hear him call._

_Mary stuck her head out to see what was going on, she had heard the gunshots but didn't know what was happening and so had her charge._

_Nick was attempting to get up, his weak body protesting too much movement,the trip to the hole earlier had worn him out but these people were in danger because of him and he needed to keep them safe._

"_Listen Mary, the police aren't your friend, well some of them aren't and right now it's hard to tell the good guys from the bad and we don't have time to try,I need to leave and I need to leave now." He looked around for his boots and pulled them onto his feet,not bothering to tie them._

"_You need to lay back down,you're too sick to leave and those men won't bother us for long,Martin will take care of it, he always does." she smiled and looked over to her sick charge._

_Nick nodded, so far they had done nothing but take care of him,and now they were risking their lives. He shook his head in disbelief,he needed to talk to Ecklie,his friends were dead,he needed to tell them that he knew who was behind this mess._

_Mary pulled her head back, she had spotted Annie's car parked outside, a new fear swept over her, had Annie been hurt by the gunfire?_

"_Ms Annie's car is out there, I hope she's okay." her voice sounded sad and that bothered Nick, he knew what it meant to lose a friend._

_Nick came up along Ms Mary and looked out that is when he saw Brass, the man who he had given up for dead, maybe the others had escaped too."Jim!" he called out to his friend, when he suddenly felt cold metal against his head._

"_Not another word Stokes, it's time to pay up." Get to your feet or the little lady dies." the dressed officer instructed._

"_Don't hurt anybody else,I'll go with you." Nick raised his hands and was starting to stand when he heard a gunshot from the other side of the box, Mary had taken the shot, the man fell to the ground._

_**Yeah she did! I hope you guys are still reading, my fingers are getting sore from typing so much! A big thank you to those who responded so far and I will tell you as a writer I do check a hundred times a day for the feedback,it is very addictive and wonderful to see the reaction to a chapter...thank you and I can not find the words to say how much it means to me!!**_


	35. Chapter 35

**For My Friend Warrick**

No they do not belong to me...wish they did though.

**Okay...the chapter you have been waiting for...the killer finally revealed...soon the reason.**

"Don't hurt anybody else,I'll go with you." Nick raised his hands and was starting to stand when he heard a gunshot from the other side of the box, Mary had taken the shot, the man fell to the ground.

Nick was stunned as he put a finger to the man's throat to check for a pulse.

"Is he dead?" still holding the gun in her feeble hands,"If not I'll shoot him again!" taking aim at the man on the ground.

"Mary, it's okay, he's alive, maybe he can answer some questions for Brass, hang on girl." feeling a little stunned that the woman who was so gentle could possibly take a shot like that.

"Is he a bad guy?" Mary asked as she put her weapon down beside her and stood.

"Yeah, he is Mary and I'm sure three are more out there, evidently they know I'm here." Nick felt exhausted from all the activity.

"A young woman and a police officer came here looking for you yesterday but we didn't know if we could trust them so we sent them away. Guess they figured it out." Shaking her head as she grabbed some bandages from the box that Annie had delivered.

Nick picked up the officer's discarded gun, placing it in his pants, and looked at Mary with sad eyes,"I really need to get out of here and soon." feeling as if he was going to get them all killed if he hung around.

"You need to lie back down before I get mad at you, I told you Martin will take care of it, he always takes care of us." Mary walked over to Nick and gave him a soft pat on the back.

Martin heard the gunshot and so had Brass and they made their way to Mary's boxed home, afraid that Nick had been killed. The sounds of sirens in the background could be heard.

As they arrived at Mary's makeshift home they saw the police officer, Brass couldn't help but to feel pissed, one of their own attempting to kill Nick,"Where's Nick?" he asked the little woman who was now placing a bandage to the head wound of the wounded man.

"Brass?" Nick turned around and looked up to see his friend, the emotion of seeing someone he assumed was dead was overwhelming, he stood and grabbed his friend into a hug,his left shoulder protesting any movement but he was so happy to see that he was alive and Brass felt the same."You're alive."

"Well, that depends on who you ask." Brass smiled, glad to see his friend again.

"What about Grissom, Sara, Catherine and Riley?" worried about his friends and if they had survived the explosion.

"They're all fine,they think you're dead too, they'll be happy to know you're still alive." Brass was taking in Nick's pale and thin appearance, the man had really suffered in the past few days.

"Did you find Dr Roberts? I thought she was dead, I couldn't get her out of the tunnel." His concern evident in his facial expressions.

"We found her, she's fine. I'm pretty sure she's thinking the same thing about you,she led me here actually" remembering her words about the green eyed man.

"She probably thinking about how many tests she is going to run on me when she gets her hands back on me." he smiled,feeling a little humor about his drill sargeant doctor.

Brass looked over to the man on the ground, the wound to his head,"Do you know him?"

"No, I thought you might, though he does look familiar." Nick was starring down at the injured man.

Brass looked at the tiny woman who was busying herself caring for the man,"She sot him?"

"Yeah,she did." he smiled and continued,"Hopefully he will be able to answer some questions but I think I already know who's behind this, who had Warrick murdered, who killed McKeen, and who is taking pop shots at me." Nick's vision was suddenly drawn to a flash of light up on the embankment, then he heard it, the shattering sound of gunfire, as he knocked Brass to the ground, the bullets barely missing them.

"Nick! Are you okay?" Brass asked as he was drawing his gun and pointing upwards, they could be picked off easily in their location. Where the hell was the team, he thought to himself, noticing for the first time that the sirens were now silenced but nowhere in sight.

"Yeah, I think." he looked around and saw that the little woman who had been so kind to him, who had saved his life, was now lying on the ground, her motionless body caught his attention and he crawled over to her and pulled her up into his arms, the gunfire still echoing through the camp.

"Mary!" he yelled at the little woman who was not responding to him, tears streaming down his face."Listen to me Mary, you can't die on me, you just can't die. Can you hear me Mary? Please hear me, please." Nick was oblivious to everything and everyone around him, his focus was on the woman in his arms.

Brass took a shot towards the direction of the fired round and silence ensued, the gunfire had stopped. He picked up his radio as he leaned against the concrete wall of the overpass and called again for help and for an ambulance.

Mary opened her fading eyes and looked up at Nick, "It's okay boy, I'm fine. I've actually been waiting for this day a long time,my work here is done." she coughed a weak cough,Nick could hear the sound of fluid filling her lungs,"But you've still got work to do,you have to live to bring justice to the man who killed your friend, so don't you let him down."

"Mary,don't do this to me, don't you die on me, please. I can't allow you to die like this." Nick pleaded, sobs wracking his body.

"It's okay Nicky,I lived this long to take care of you, now its your time to take care of your friend." her little fingers gripping his arm, she was in obvious pain but she smiled and looked at Nick in the eyes," Warrick will help you if you just learn to listen." Pausing to take a breath she looked up at Nick and smiled,"Tell Martin that I loved him, tell him ,that he was my very best friend." she then made a choking sound from her throat after uttering her last words, her eyes rolled upward then closed.

Mary's breathing was ragged for only a few more seconds then she took her final breath. Nick's body shook with emotion, tears streamed down his face, as he pulled her close to his body,as if he could will her back to life. The open wound to her chest still oozing blood,the loss of his new friend was more than he could bare.

Martin, who had been listening, walked over from his crouched position and nodded to the young man. With tears in his eyes he then reached down and took Mary's small body into his arms and walked away to grieve for the loss of his beloved friend.

Annie walked with Marin, she would help comfort the rest of the group, she turned and gave Nick a glance, seeing that his pain was immense,she knew she had to take care of Mary's friends first,but there was a pain that was very palpable in this man who grieved for the little woman, she gave him a soft smile then continued to follow Martin.

Nick picked up the gun that Mary had lay down earlier and started towards the embankment, he needed to find the man who had killed Mary, the man who had killed his best friend, Warrick. It was time for Nick to find deputy district attorney Jeffrey Sinclair.

"Nick, where are you going?" Brass called out, not knowing where the shooter was now located.

"To take care of what I should have already taken care of before it got this out of control." he muttered as he disappeared into the bushes, Brass following behind him, gun drawn.

**Now you know...soon the reason why!**


	36. Chapter 36

**For My Friend Warrick**

No they do not belong to me...wish they did though.

Nick picked up the gun that Mary had laid down earlier and started towards the embankment, he needed to find the man who had killed Mary, the man who had killed his best friend, Warrick. It was time for Nick to find deputy district attorney Jeffrey Sinclair.

"Nick, where are you going?" Brass called out, not knowing where the shooter was now located.

"To take care of what I should have already taken care of before it got this out of control." he muttered as he disappeared into the bushes, Brass following behind him, gun drawn.

"Nick, whoever is up there has the advantage, they can see us." Brass was quickly following behind his friend.

"Stay low and stay out of the line of fire Jim, I can't let it go, not when we're this close." Nick was already winded from the short hike, his lungs still filled with infection.

Brass looked down at the ground and shook his head, this was so far out of hand, the files that had been delivered to Nick's motel were mostly of cases that the CSI's had tackled over the years but he did remember a file in the stack that pertained to Nick's father. Did he want to uncover everything about this case? He followed after the man he called his son and followed him towards the last known position of the shooter.

Homeless Camp

Martin sat on the side of the road holding Mary's lifeless form, Stephanie stood behind him, tears streaming down her face, she had told the members of the homeless community that her name was Stephanie but they had insisted on calling her Annie, especially Mary, it had been her daughter's name, she had died when she was only thirty-five of ovarian cancer, that is when Mary had entered the community, wanting to make a difference.

Stephanie looked up from her sad thoughts of her friend and saw police lights coming up the deserted road. She could not help but to cringe, good guys or bad? She hoped that Nick's friends would show up, Nick and the older man needed their help.

The cars came to a stop and officers jumped as out an ambulance was seen waiting in the far distance, waiting for an all clear.

"Where's Jim Brass?" a voice yelled.

Stephanie and the others were at a loss for what to do, they had all seen Mary killed, another cop lay in front of Mary's make-shift home barely alive and now the there was a trust issue, do they trust these cops or not.

Suddenly a familiar face exited a black SUV and walked over to Stephanie,"Where's Nick?" he somehow knew or made a connection with her and she pointed towards the embankment."He is with an older man, someone shot Mary from that location." tears ran down her eyes as she attempted to assist Nick's boss, pointing towards the hillside.

Grissom nodded and looked down at the fatally wounded woman then back at Stephanie,"Thank you." pausing for a few seconds,"I'm so sorry for your loss." He then walked over and gave the other officers the location of the two men.

Stephanie gently patted Martin on the back and walked towards her car, she knew that Nick needed medical attention, that the man who was taking shots at them was hell bent on killing this man whom she had just met days before and she knew she had to do her best to help keep him safe.

**The embankment**

"Nick, they're gone." Brass announced at they reached the shooter's perch, a shotgun lying on the ground and tire tracks were leading away from the area, they had missed the shooter whom Nick was convinced was someone in the department.

Nick sat down, winded from the climb up the steep hill, he just wanted it to all be over with, he wanted to get back to his life, the one he had just days before.

Brass walked over and looked down towards the direction from which they came, police cars were everywhere,he could see officers starting to approach and he wanted to get Nick out of there quickly, suddenly he heard the roar of a engine, he turned wondering if the sniper had returned when he saw the young red-headed friend of Nick's pull up on the old dirt road.

Stephanie left the engine running as she got out of her vehicle, she had followed the dirt road to their location. "I hoped that I would find you here." Stephanie knew the area well, she had assisted the homeless for a long time and she had used this path many times, a short cut to Vegas.

Brass assisted Nick up from the ground, hurrying him almost to go with Stephanie."Nick, there are officers coming, right now we don't know who are the good guys or who are the bad , so the best thing to do is for Stephanie to take you with her to get you some medical attention."

Nick didn't argue, he just followed orders from the man whom he trusted with his life,he knew that Brass would take care of Mary and make sure she was given a decent burial, she had saved his life, gave her life to save him, he owed her and he would not forget what she had done.

Stephanie assisted Nick into her car and quickly pulled out on the old dirt road, she knew exactly where she would take him, she knew his life was still in danger from what she understood from the man called Brass.

A few minutes later the hillside was covered with officer's but Brass would not allow anybody near the shooter's perch, only the CSI's would be allowed to process the scene,the only people he could trust right now.

Grissom had made his way to Jim and looked around for Nick,"Where is he?"

"I sent him with Stephanie,she's taking him to get medical treatment,from the looks of him he needed some."

Grissom nodded, though he was very concerned that Nick was again out of their site with a killer still on the loose.'Any ideas who might be our killer?" Grissom asked as he picked up the high powered rifle.

"We need to talk Gil, this is way over our heads and I have a feeling that Nick might know hwho it might be, I think he figured it out but is a little hesitant to name names yet." he looked over an offer approaching.

"Sir, we found some shoe prints coming up the hill from another location, might have been his original location." the officer pointed to a brushy area.

Grissom and Brass made their way to the area with the officer and looked underneath the brush, a gun and a pair of binoculars were lying on the ground. "I need to get the team here, Catherine and Gregg should be available."

"I'll keep the other site secured, we don't want any evidence disappearing." Brass turned and walked back towards the other site,hoping that Nick was safe with the young woman.

**VEGAS**

"Nick, wake up." the sweet voice was prodding him but his eyes were heavy and he just wanted to sleep, his body suffering from lack of sleep and his mind from the trauma of the past several days.

Stephanie opened her door and walked into the clinic and came back out with a doctor and a nurse pushing a wheelchair. She opened the passenger door,the smell of sweat and soltice hit their nostrils, he had been too long without medical care, the doctor was worried immediately, the man's color and his congested lungs gave him great concern.

"We need to get a chest xray right away Carol and we should go ahead and get some IV antibiotics started." The doctor instructed as he assisted the nurse in transferring the man into the chair.

They quickly wheeled him into a vacant room in the small clinic, the nurse and doctor started to assist undressing the man, noting the healing bullet wound to his left shoulder, a drainage tube still intact. "Where the hell has this man been?" the doctor asked as he smelled the thick smell of soltice on the man's clothing and the strong smell of alcohol on his breath. "Carol, let's give him a duoneb treatment for his wheezing."As he removed the bandage he saw what looked like the inside lining of an egg, an old time remedy for pulling out infection, must of worked, the drain was full and the site looked good.

The doctor shook his head and looked at Stephanie,"You take care of everybody, don't you?" he smiled,then continued to work on his patient who was staying very quiet.

Stephanie held back saying anything,not allowing him to know that his patient was a CSI, she didn't think he needed to know everything. She was worried for the man though, his color was pale and his cough was definitely bad, the congestion was confirmed to pneumonia by the xray and he was started on intravenous antibiotics.

**Six Hours later**

**Vegas Community HEALTH CLINIC**

The room was dimly lit and the taste of copper and metal filled his mouth, the antibiotics were permeating his system, he could even taste them.

The staff had wanted him to answer questions earlier but he was too tired, how much should they know, or for even that matter, how much should Stephanie know, because if you know too much you die,especially if within close proximity to me, he thought to himself.

He felt as if he was in shock, the events in his life since his best friend had been murdered had snowballed out of control and he felt as if he needed to let someone know that Sinclair was the man in control, though McKeen had pulled the trigger,it was because Warrick had come too close to the truth, money laundering,theft and murder were just the tip of the iceberg, if the truth be known there was a lot more they were involved in, including possibly the mob.

His thoughts were interrupted by the soft sounds of voices near by, the staff had left him alone to sleep and Stephanie was nowhere to be seen,maybe she knew what was best and left,staying as far away from him would be the best, the best for everybody.

He looked down to see that his clothing was missing except for his boxers, which looked new and a sheet that covered some of him. He almost laughed because it seemed that every time he passed out or went to sleep he woke up without his clothes,it felt a tad embarrassing.

Suddenly the silence was broken and a nurse with a big bun on the back of her head walked in with a tray of medicines,"Hi, how are you feeling?" she asked as she took out a syringe.

Though he wanted to reply with an, 'I'm fine.' ,all he could manage to get out was "What's in the syringe?"

"Medicine, the doctor wants me to give you a couple of shots of steroids for those lungs, it will help with that wheezing and that tight feeling in your chest." She flipped off the cap and assisted him to his side,"This will hurt a little, it's a steroid and they do hurt." she then rubbed the area on his hip with an alcohol pad and then jabbed the needle into his skin, the liquid burned as it entered and he could not help but to let out a weak moan. She repeated the same on the other hip, again he let out a soft moan, the burning liquid was the least of his problems though and he allowed the pain. It actually made him feel human again.

"It's okay honey, I know it hurts but it will feel better in a few minutes." she assisted him back to his back and then raised his head,"You are looking better though." she smiled.

He only nodded, what else did she have in store for him, he thought to himself as he watched her pull out another syringe but this time she emptied the contents into the IV line.

"This is to help you rest, your body is suffering from malnutrition and exhaustion plus you have this infection in your arm and in your lungs." she then pulled out a cup of medications for him to swallow,"This is a vitamin, an iron pill, and an oral antibiotic." she smiled as she handed him the cup of pills and gave him a cup of water to swallow them with,which tasted like copper as he took the offered medications.

"Where is Stephanie?" his voice sounding weak,almost pathetic to even to himself.

"She had to go to class but she will back back in a while." she smiled,picked up the tray and left the room.

The doctor took that moment to enter, the effects of the medication starting to take over his tired body,"Sir, I am going to transfer you to the community hospital, they take indigents there and will treat your pneumonia and your wound."

He wanted to laugh, they thought he was an indigent,well, he wasn't going to argue because he was too sleepy and too tired to argue."Whatever." his only reply as his eyes slid shut.

"I need your name." he needed for the transfer.

"John Doe." he replied as his eyelids closed, too tired to argue ,too tired to care.

**I know what your thinking...is he ever going to get better? Yeah he is...and he will see Warrick again!**


	37. Chapter 37

**For My Friend Warrick**

No they do not belong to me...wish they did though.

**Vegas Community Health Clinic**

Stephanie parked her car and walked inside to get Nick, she knew he might need to hospitalized but she wanted to be the one who told him,he would definitely need some protection.

As she walked into the small clinic which was still crowded she spotted Carol,"Hey Carol where is the man I brought in this morning?"

"Hey Steph, we sent him to the community hospital for treatment, he is a pretty sick young man." she was busy and did not stop to answer questions, Stephanie felt panicked, she needed to find Nick.

Stephanie followed the nurse,"Where did you send him?" she asked wanting, more like needing a quick answer.

"Listen, we are taking care of him just like we have taken care of all the other sick pups you bring us, he will be getting very good medical care so he can go back out on the street and do more alcohol and drugs and you'll get to save him again and again." she smirked at the young naïve girl.

"You don't understand, he is not an indigent, he works with the Las Vegas police department, his life is in danger and I need to know his exact location because there are people who want him dead." she was worried,she was frank and she needed to get to the point and she needed to find Nick now.

Dr Byrd walked around the corner to hear most of the conversation,"He gave us a John Doe alias, I admitted him to the acute respiratory unit on the fifth floor at the Vegas Community Hospital."

"Thanks." she turned and ran out of the office,she knew she had to get there quickly, she pulled out her cellphone and called the number to the switchboard, she needed to talk to a Captain Brass.

She jumped into her car, and headed towards the community hospital,hoping that nothing had happened to Nick, she knew he was unable to take care of himself, he was too weak and sick, she needed to be there to protect him until his friends could arrive.

**The Homeless Community**

"Gregg, I need you to get the evidence back to the lab." Grissom yelled from above him, he looked agitated as he started to do hand gestures while he was talking to Brass, which usually meant he was ticked off at something or somebody.

Gregg knew he had to get going but he was still photographing the scene at the second site but stopped and handed the camera to Riley."Gotta go, the boss is calling." Gregg ran back up the hill towards the first site, the SUV had been filled with various pieces of evidence.

Grissom handed him the keys and started to walk away with Brass when Gregg stopped and turned,"How's Nick?"

"Brass just got a call from the woman who took him to the doctor, he was admitted to the community hospital, we're on our way." Gregg picked up immediately that something was wrong.

"I'll tell Catherine to meet us there when she gets done with the scene from the first site, the third site has been worked, the forth still needs to be worked, Ecklie's team will be working the tunnel, or what's left of it."

Gregg nodded, "Tell Nick I said hey."

Grissom nodded and turned again to leave, he felt an urgency to talk to Nick regarding the case, he felt that he might have figured out a significant part of the case,who was actually behind Warrick's murdera nd his disappearance from the funeral home.

**Las Vegas Community Hospital**

Stephanie hurried to the fifth floor and found a nurse in the hallway, "I'm here to see a John Doe who was admitted earlier." she felt relieved when the nurse pointed to the door down the hallway and smiled.

Stephanie walked down the hallway, pushing her red hair behind her ears, she wanted to make sure nothing happened to this man. She felt very protective of him, maybe because he was so sick, maybe because she knew he had been out on the streets for several days, or maybe it was the way he looked at her in the restaurant.

She reached his door and knocked lightly hoping not to disturb him, she knew he was suffering from exhaustion. When she didn't get an answer she opened it quietly and walked into the doorway, she was shocked that the man whom had been so ill was sitting up in a chair looking out the window, the room dimly lit, barely able to make out that it was him.

"Nick, are you okay?" she asked as she walked in and shut the door behind her, seeing that the man wanted to be alone but knowing that he couldn't be left alone,his life was still in danger.

"Yeah,just thinking." his voice low and gravely.

She walked over and took a seat beside him, making sure he was not disturbed."Sorry I had to leave you at the office but I'm taking finals right now." she paused then continued in a quiet voice,"I hate tests."

"Tests really can suck." he replied,again still focused on the window.

They sat in silence for a while, he was deep in thought concerning the events of the past few days, but the silence of the room was broken when an older nurse walked in and found her patient out of bed.

"Mr Doe, you are on strict bedrest. Why are you out of bed?" Her tone was that of a very upset mother scolding a child.

"I'm not sleepy." he felt honesty with the nurse might be the best thing.

"Well, that is not why you are on bedrest, it's because you are sick and you need to get better." her hands busy straightening the bed,and fluffing the pillow."Please do as I ask or I will call your physician."

He felt as if he argued that might lead to him getting him a dreaded sitter or better, restraints, so he slowly stood, his legs shaky from the lack of food over the past few days and he walked slowly back to the bed.

"Very good Mr Doe, I will get you something to eat, the doctor wants to get you started on some form of nutrition, so we are going to start with a tray and see how you do,if you can't eat then he might need to insert a feeding tube until you are better." the nurse informed as she walked out of the room.

He looked over a Stephanie,"Did she say feeding tube?"

Stephanie smiled a small smile, "I think she did, so if you are smart you will eat whatever they give you on that tray and smile while you are doing it." she walked over and sat down beside his bed.

"You don't have to do this, I'll be fine." he wanted her to not feel obligated to stay, they were strangers in a way, she knew very little about him and he even less about her,and he also felt as if she was placing her life in danger just by staying in the same room with him.

"I know I don't but I am a person of my word and I told your friend Brass that I would stay with you, and I will." she reached over and gave his hand a small squeeze and smiled.

He hesitated for a few minutes but then spoke in a very serious voice,"It isn't safe to be around me right now,people die when they get too close to me."

Her head gave a small jerk and she looked very serious,"I guess it's a risk I'm willing to take Nick." a grin spread across her face, suddenly the door to the room opened and in walked the two men whom she knew would take care of her new friend.

"Nick, you okay." Grissom asked trying to not show too much emotion but feeling as if tears could fall any moment, the man he assumed had been killed was alive.

"We need to talk." his only response, the man of emotion was emotionless, he felt as if the case needed to be resolved. He was tired and wanted to grieve for his friend, the body was gone but he didn't have to have a body to mourn the loss of what he considered his best friend, his brother.

Stephanie got the clue and stood,"I'm going to get a cup of coffee, I'll be back in awhile." she smiled at Nick and received smiles from the two men as she exited the door.

"Grissom and Brass pulled up chairs towards Nick's bed, but Nick didn't want to be lying down as he attempted to try and explain what he needed to say, so he sat up on the side of the bed, feeling just a little light headed as he did the action but recovered quickly.

"What happened back there Nick?" Grissom asked wanting answers to questions,but feeling some guilt as he looked at the frail man before him, muscles that had been there just weeks ago were now less visible,he face pale and his eyes looked sad,such a contrast to the man he had known for so many years.

"I think I figured it out, Warrick and I have worked several cases in which the assistant district attorney was involved,he seemed to have something against us in a way,accusing us of making mistakes when it was just the evidence that he didn't like. So a few months ago we had a case that involved theft here in the department, the motor bikes, I ran the prints and discovered Jeffrey's prints on several but he covered by saying that he had been on the scene of the recovery." Nick stopped, taking a few breaths,the oxygen through the nasal cannuli was helping but talking seemed to wind him just a little.

"Sinclair involved,that's a little hard to believe, he has a son and a wife and a baby on the way." Brass injected, feeling that Nick was on the wrong track.

"There's more, when Warrick was involved with the crooked judge he asked him to do several things for him, including hiding some substantial evidence in a case involving the disappearance of money,drugs and the disappearance of expensive items collected from crime scenes, I think this is when Sinclair got involved, because the evidence disappeared regardless of Warrick not cooperating, the case moved forward with another judge and the evidence still disappeared,that is when I think Sinclair got involved." He was wanting to give all the facts as he figured them out but he was still not clear on everything.

"You think that Sinclair took Warrick's place." Grissom asked wanting to get the jest of what Nick was saying.

"No, he took the judge's place, he had enough information that he was moved from his position of being the gofer to a higher position in the underground world. He used his influence and his ability to act on certain cases to move things in the direction that fit Gedda's and McKeen's agenda, he was power to the organization and his influence moved along their agenda, an underground market of stolen goods. Where did he get the goods? He got them from the police department and from our lab,from Gedda's thugs and from McKeen's position of Undersheriff,he was able to alter records, instead of a 100,000 dollars stolen he changed zeros and made it ten, pocketing the rest, and the safehouse was the best place to hide it."

"You're saying that Grayson was involved." Brass was feeling pretty unsure of the scenario, his friend had always seemed so sincere.

"No, I think he was used just as they used Warrick until you got involved Grissom and saved him from being part of what was an inside connection to the mob, Warrick would have been the best part of the team because he could have connections with the casinos and the lab, he would have been the perfect mole." He paused for a few seconds,"But you saved him Grissom."

Grissom started making the connections, this went back years."But why you Nick?"

Nick shook his head,"That's really the part I've had difficulty with, other than my suspicions and my close friendship with Warrick I really don't know."

Brass had seen the files, he knew Nick's father had some kind of connection to the case but had yet time to figure it out, he needed to go back tot he files,Nick was a big part of the puzzle and he needed to figure out which part.

"Listen, I need to get a location on Sinclair,bring him in to have a little talk." Brass stood to leave but turned back to look at Nick,"Listen, I know you hate it but you have to have a guard outside your door, I'll hand pick them myself.

Nick understood, he didn't want anybody else killed though, he just wanted to go home."Sure."

Grissom sat still, trying to understand all the connections, but it seemed to make sense suddenly, all the times Sinclair had been connected to cases that had turned into problems for the lab, evidence that seemed to be missing or tainted.

"Why did they suddenly want Warrick dead?" Grissom asked,needing to know the answer.

"Warrick was working on a case, a case that went back to the beginning of his dealings with the judge, but Warrick was smart enough to put it together,he figured out that Sinclair was now the new person in charge,the faked documents, the prints and his reactions to Warrick when he was under suspicion for killing Joanna. Warrick hired the private investigator, Benny Harper, to check out his hunch and they got too close to the truth but they hadn't gathered enough evidence before he was killed. I think McKeen was worried that Gedda would be investigated, that he had made too many mistakes. McKeen felt that Gedda would rat him out with a deal to protect his sorry ass and that he would start naming names. McKeen wouldn't go down without taking someone with him so he hired Pritchard to kill Gedda and I believe took it upon himself to kill Warrick,attempting to end the investigation into what they had uncovered. Sinclair felt the same, he too had to deal with those who would give his name in a heartbeat to save themselves because if he didn't he would go down for everything, including Warrick's death." Nick was feeling exhausted,suddenly he felt as if he could sleep.

Grissom was overwhelmed with the new information, who would they be able to trust and why did they want Nick dead,"We have a mole in the lab." a statement, how else did McKeen know what evidence that had been uncovered.

"No we don't have a mole but I believe we have an uncover CIA or FBI agent amongst us and the lab has so many new people it really is difficult to tell who without blowing their cover. I think they were feeding McKeen information to get to Sinclair." Nick's eyes were getting heavy and he lay down and pulled the sheet up, his heavy eyes closed and within just a few seconds he was asleep.

Grissom remained in his seat pondering all the information that Nick had just given to him,the thought that Jeffrey Sinclair was actually the person in charge of the mob or at least on of the top people in charge. He rubbed his head,warding off a migraine, he hadn't felt this frustrated since the miniature killer.

Thanks for all the feedback!


	38. Chapter 38

**For My Friend Warrick**

No they do not belong to me...wish they did though.

Grissom sat and watched his friend sleep, he was restless and he had mumbled Warrick's name several times in the past hour,Nick was still dealing with the death as if it had just happened, no funeral, no time for grieving, he had suffered the biggest blow in his life and he was unable to take the time to deal with it,too busy running, hiding and trying to recover from the physical assault of his wounds and the physical results of those wounds.

His thoughts were interrupted by the buzz of his cellphone, he answered it quickly,not wanting Nick disturbed."Grissom."

"Gil, I think Nick figured it out, Sinclair is nowhere to be found and about ten percent of our force is missing. I think we've missed an opportunity here,I just have to wonder what else we've missed." Brass was getting a page, he picked up his pager and took a glance at the screen, Dr Roberts was getting discharged and she wanted to know about her patient, Nick Stokes, he rolled his eyes and knew he was in for a good yelling at, he hadn't given her any more information other than Nick was alive.

"Right now he's asleep and I don't want him disturbed and neither does his doctor, we'll ask questions when he's up to it,as for Sinclair he's probably gone for now." Grissom almost whispered into the phone.

"Well, he might get more than disturbed, Dr Roberts wants to know where her patient is and I'm about to get a ear full." Brass's strong voice fell rather flat as he stood and walked across his office, the stares from outside were disturbing, officers really unsure of who they could trust, so he closed his door and walked back to his chair as he flipped out a bottle of Motrin ,the days were starting to run together.

"Well, that might be a good thing for Nick, I think the nurse is wanting to place a feeding tube in Nick, his lunch try is still sitting on the table and he didn't eat anything." Grissom raised to the lid to the food and his appraisal was correct, all food accounted for and this wouldn't be making Nurse Donna very happy."

"Listen I've got a lot going on right now, And I need to call Karen so I'll talk to you in a while, by the way Gregg and Catherine should be there soon, they just left the lab." Brass reached over and emptied out two pills into his hand,popped them into his mouth and swallowed a gulp of water from his coffee cup.

"If you hear anything else call me back, I'll be here for a while." Grissom ended the call. Not really waiting for a response, he knew Jim heard him, he wanted to make the room quiet again, he didn't want to disturb Nick.

He placed his cell back into his pocket and sat back down in the chair and watched his friend again, still having nightmares and occasionally calling out his friend's name,guilt filled his mind, if only he hadn't been so selfish at first, Nick wouldn't be in this shape now.

"Mr Doe." a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Can I help you?" Grissom looked up to see a woman, in her mid thirties, dressed in a gray suit and carrying a notebook.

"I'm Lauren Taylor, I'm the hospital social worker. I'm notified anytime we have a John Doe admitted." the beautiful brunette raised out her hand for him to shake and Grissom returned the gesture, noticing immediately how soft her touch was to his rough hands.

"I think there's been a mistake, he really isn't a John Doe, his name is Nick Stokes and he is here under an alias to protect him. He works for the Las Vegas police department." Grissom wanted to hurry and get the woman out of the room before she awakened Nick.

"Oh, I see, then I might be of some assistance. I work with security and with the nurses in protecting the rights of patients and their rights under HIPPA,I probably can be of some assistance to you and your department and especially to our patient." she smiled and looked over at the patient in the bed, something drew her closer and she walked over to see the pale, thin man in the bed.

"He's been through a lot over the past few days." Grissom's voice was low and,full of emotion.

"He looks tired,even in his sleep." She verbalized the observation out loud then turned to meet Grissom's eyes and gave him a small smile.

He nodded in agreement and watched as she walked towards the door,"I'll be back later this evening, I really want to talk to him." she then turned and exited the room, pulling the door closed behind her, leaving Grissom standing in the dark room in deep thought.

**Desert Palm Hospital**

Brass walked down the rather bright white hallway,knowing that he was about to get reamed by the woman whom he had fallen for over the past week,but it would be worth it,she was a firestorm though.

He knocked on her door and heard a faint sound from the other side which he assumed meant to come in so he opened the door and walked in to see the doctor dressed, her suitcase lying on the bed.

"What took you so long Captain Brass, traffic?" she was ready to rumble, she had expected him to keep her up to date, she had risked her life for the team and she felt she deserved to be kept informed.

"Listen,before you unravel on me let me explain." he gave her a look of remorse for his actions,knowing that being any other way would not be accepted.

Karen nodded and took a seat,this had better be good she thought to herself and Nick Stokes had better be fine.

"We found Nick in a homeless community,being taken care of by a little lady called Mary. Mary did her best with what she had but Nick was still exposed to the cold at night and lack of medication which of course worsened his condition in a way,weight loss and his pneumonia is worse but he would have died according to his physician if she hadn't done the things she did,her home remedies." He paused because she looked as if she could explode at that news, he would allow her a question or maybe more depending on her mood,which he still couldn't really read.

"But he is under a doctor's care right now?" she asked,needing to know that the young man was being taken care of by a qualified doctor.

"Yes, Nick is at Vegas Community under an alias. He is being treated for his lung infection, the shoulder infection, dehydration and weight loss." Brass informed.

Karen stood, the bandage on her head was a stark white, a huge contrast to the red flush of her face,a sure sign that she was angry but was keeping it in check, taking a second to get her control regained, she closed her suitcase and looked at Brass with a deep look of concern.

Brass knew she would not take care of herself until she knew her patient was doing fine."You ready to go?" his only words, he knew when to shut up.

"Let's go." Brass opened the door and allowed the woman to walk out without the assistance of a wheelchair, he knew not to offer one given her mood, but took the suitcase from her without opposition to his act of kindness.

She picked up her phone and made a call, she was giving orders within minutes of the engine starting, Brass didn't even ask, he just drove towards Vegas Community.

**Nick's Hospital Room**

Several hours had passed and now Grissom was sitting in the room with Catherine and Gregg, they had taken Nick down to specials and placed a central line into his neck but he was still asleep,the procedure had not awakened him,exhaustion was given as the reason by the nurse.

The sounds of whispers were heard in the room as he came to awareness, he felt as he had been asleep for days but knew it was probably only hours. He opened his eyes and watched his three friends talk in hushed whispers. He felt bad that they had risked so much for him but they were alive and he felt relieved.

Catherine looked over to see Nick's brown eyes open and she smiled,"Hey you're awake." still keeping her voice low as all three stood and walked over to his bed.

He nodded, he felt too tired to speak as if he had been robbed of his energy to do so,a tear rolled down his cheek at the sight of his friends, alive and well,he had been so sure they had died in the explosion.

"We're all fine Nicky." Catherine reached up and wiped the lone tear away,seeing that he was struggling to keep it together in front of his friends."Hey, Sara went down to get us some coffee, would you like something to drink?"

He really didn't but he nodded, and he watched Catherine pour him a glass of cold water and raise his bed to an almost sitting position. He took a small sip as she held the straw to his mouth and it actually felt good to swallow something cold, the memory of the concoction that Mary had given him almost brought tears to his eyes again but he had to push it back for now, he needed some answers. He mouthed 'thank you' to Catherine who placed the water back on the bedside table.

Grissom took that moment to feel as if Nick should get some answers so he could move on with recovery,"Sinclair's gone and so is a lot of our officers. Brass feels that they probably fled the country somehow but the mob has those kind of connections. Even Sinclair's family has completely disappeared."

Nick nodded, he felt that it was all connected to someone within organized crime with am agenda to move money and stolen drugs and goods.

"As for an insider in the lab, we can't verify or refute it so we will probably live with it unless they show their badge." Grissom smiled feeling that Nick was probably wrong on that point but had been fairly accurate on everything else, still wondering how his CSI's had figured it out.

Nick was becoming more aware of things around him, his keen senses starting to kick in and he lifted his hand to the right side of his neck to feel a thick bandage and several plastic intravenous lines with fluids infusing."What?" a pained expression crossed his face, his voice gravely and low.

"They stuck a central line in your neck Nick, I think Dr Roberts ordered it. I'm thinking she knew you wouldn't pull it out."Gregg smiled as he patted his friend's leg, wanting to inject the atmosphere with a little humor he knew his friend needed a reason to smile.

Nick's expression was more of pained expression instead of a smile and he wanted it out but he knew better than to say it out loud.

Grissom quickly decided to interject something soothing to his friend, seeing that Nick was looking a little upset,"Listen Dr Byrd wanted to place a feeding tube but he talked to Dr Roberts and felt it wiser to insert a central line to give you some extra nutrition with TPN and lipids. She felt a feeding tube would cause more respiratory problems given your propensity to find a way to escape hospitals."

He pulled his hand down, seeing that he really didn't have a chose and he really wanted to hurry and get better. He nodded in acquisition to the unwanted tubings. He was tired and they must have placed him on a sedative because he felt so sleepy,his heavy eyelids giving in and closing, the voices in the room returning to a low hushed noise in the background.

Grissom and Catherine ,along with Gregg walked outside of the room so as not to disturb his rest,they knew he was tired and that he would heal from his physical wounds but each one worried about the emotional scars he would always have, he was Nick,a man that felt things from his heart and took his friendships seriously.

Dr Roberts and Byrd were conversing down the hallway and Brass was relegated to a seat behind the nurse's desk,he was waiting for Karen to finish before he would get to see Nick. His new friend was serious about her patient's care, even if it meant her own health.

Brass glanced down the hallway to see his friends and stood to go and greet them, making it almost to their location before he heard a loud commotion from the other end of the hallway,the officer and the team taking notice of the loud voices,. Their hands simultaneously went down to their guns and undid their safety latch,it was just an angry family member though and they all let out a sigh of relief as the man was led away by the security guard.

Nick was sound asleep inside his room, a sound at the window was unheard, the footsteps were muted by his soft snores and when the man placed the pillow over his face, nobody heard his gasps for air.


	39. Chapter 39

**For My Friend Warrick**

No they do not belong to me...wish they did though.

"Leave him alone!" a deep,loud voice shouted at the man who was startled at the sound,he was sure the room had been vacated,now a voice was coming from the corner of the room.

The man turned and what he saw terrified him so much he let loose of the pillow and his face paled,"Who are you?"

"You should know, you had me killed." the man in the shadow answered, seeing that his friend was in trouble,Nick's breathing was shallow and moist sounding, he needed someone to come quickly but he knew that he had to take care of Sinclair first.

"No way, I saw your body in the autopsy room,and I took your dead corpse from the mortuary and buried it in the park. You're dead dammit!" He paused and attempted to get a better look at the man, no way was the dead man speaking to him." What the hell kid of trick is this?" he stammered over the leg of the bedside table as he backed towards the window.

"Surprised to see me? Thought you could murder me and just walk away without any repercussions? The team is too good and that makes me wonder why you felt you had to kill me, or Nick."

"I won't explain anything to you, you're just my conscience talking,that little voice in my head that says that killing is wrong but it is necessary to prevent further death of those you love." Sinclair was visibly shaken, perspiration ran down his face,he whole body trembled in fear of what he was experiencing.

"Why Nick? Why is it so important to kill him?" the apparition asked as he continued to walk towards the man.

"The boss ordered it, I'm just a instrument to get things done,my life and my family's life counts on me doing the job right and I really screwed up big time but I'm here to make it right." Sinclair pulled out his weapon with shaky hands,perspiration running down his face making his vision blur,he was a a man face to face with a ghost,"I swear,if this is some kind of trick I will kill him."Pointing the gun at Nick, a panic ran through him, if he didn't finish the job he would die, his unborn child, his son and wife would be killed.

"Isn't that what you came here to do anyways? Kill Nick, was that a direct order?" Warrick asked glancing over at his struggling friend."Who the hell is your boss and what does he want with Nick?" he was angry, his friend would die just like himself if he didn't do something,and he needed to do it quickly.

"I'm only doing what I was instructed,if you think I am in charge then think again, I answer to someone above me, we all answer to someone!" he wanted out of the room but he knew he had a job to finish, so he pointed the gun more in the direction of Nick and his finger tightened on the trigger.

Warrick shook his head, had he heard the man correctly?Sinclair was a patsy for someone higher up the chain,a hired killer used to get what the head of the organization wanted. He knew he had to delay Sinclair until someone returned or the officer outside checked on his friend, he knew what he had to do.

"There's only one problem with the plan,you didn't count on me being here." Warrick continued to draw closer to the man with the gun pointed at his friend.

"You had to die, who would miss you other than your co-workers? You were a loner and you were expendable." he felt as he had to tell the truth but he couldn't figure it out, the man was dead, so how in the hell was he here, he thought to himself as he tightened his grip even tighter on the trigger.

Nick awakened slowly,his heat pounding, his breathing ragged and wet, and all he could hear was the sound of Jeffrey Sinclair's voice screaming at someone. He knew he needed to act but he was about to pass out from lack of oxygen to his lungs, his weak,shaky fingers pressed the emergency light on the bed,he was being given a chance to save himself, Rick was saving his ass again.

Warrick looked at the man and smiled,"You really need to think about what you are doing man. Your children will grow up in a world of fear, always wondering if this day will be their last. Your family is going to pay for your actions,for your decisions." he paused and looked at the man with bright green eyes,"Is it worth it man?"

Tears rolled down his cheeks,a sudden realization hit him, Warrick a hd a point, he had given up everything for the organization and that would eventually mean also his family, they would never allow him to live, they would never allow his family to live, he had a choice to make.

Warrick approached the man even closer and spoke,"You were wrong man, I had a son, I wasn't alone."

Nick heard the words and tears fell down his cheeks, he knew immediately that Tina's child was Warrick's, the statement cut into his heart. His friend had a son.

**Outside Nick's Room**

Brass had received the riot act from Karen and he had brought her straight to the hospital,she had calmed down though once she actually saw that Nick was really alive and her doctor mode kicked into gear and she had left him alone, but he knew it was a short reprieve.

"I'm going to take Karen out to eat then take her home." Brass announced to the others who also seemed exhausted, the day had been long and full of emotions.

Sara walked up carrying a tray of coffee cups and condiments,"Hey, I miss something?"

Each person took a cup of coffee and Sara glanced up,"What's Nick light doing on?" the emergency red blinking light above the door was flashing, a nurse was hurrying down the hallway.

Brass reached over to open the door but it would not open,"Hey Nick, you okay?" the man shouted, panic feeling his brain,feeling as if they hadn't been careful enough, his hands began to beat on the door.

"What the hell?" Catherine sat her cup down on the banister across the hallway and pulled out her gun, her mind wondering what they had missed in the room, the window was two stories up, did someone feel that desperate that they would climb up to the window to get into the room?

Grissom handed his cup to Sara and helped Brass push on the door, Brass pulling out his radio making a call to all officers to go and check out the window leading to the room, he pushed everybody back and kicked at the door but it would not budge.

Grissom too was giving it a kick as Gregg and the officer stood by with their guns drawn.

"Nick, can you hear me?" Grissom shouted, the hospital staff feeling a certain amount of panic, also started calling out for a code gray, an emergency situation within the hospital, and shutting patient doors.Dr Roberts and Bryd stood by in case they were needed.

A bulky security guard walked up to the door with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers,"I've had patients block themselves in their rooms before, let me try."

The men stood back and Brass had his gun out and ready to use it if necessary, Grissom looked on with disbelief that his CSI could be in danger again, hadn't he been through enough?

They all watched as the door was lifted off the hinges and Brass and Grissom rushed inside, shocked at the sight before them.

Jeffrey Sinclair was found knelt down on the floor, his hands clasped behind his head,his gun lying on the floor, tears running down his face. Silence filled the room as they walked in and saw Nick sitting up on hte side of the bed, still having problems with his breathing but alive.

Grissom walked over placing his gun back into his holster,"What happened Nick?"

Nick, through tear filled eyes looked at Grissom and the rest of the team and smiled,"Warrick finally won the ultimate bet."

Karen and Dr Byrd rushed in with the medical staff as Brass cuffed and got Sinclair to his feet. The defeated man glanced over at Nick who was glaring at the him and shook his head,"I'm sorry." he then allowed the officers to lead him out of the room.

Nick looked at the man and nodded, his anger seemed to have melted, Sinclair knew he would pay for what he had done but he wanted his family safe and the only way that would happen was to place them in protective custody.

The staff started giving Nick medical attention,pushing the team again out the door,Dr Roberts and Dr Byrd would take care of their patient.

As the team fell against he wall exhausted outside in the hallway they could only look at each other and wonder what had taken place in the room. Why was Sinclair was on the floor, unarmed? The answers would be hours away given Nick's respiratory status.

"Nick was unarmed." it was a statement. " Wonder what he said to convince Sinclair to give up?" Sara asked out loud,"Usually killers don't give up that easily, especially those who climb two stories to get to their victim."

"I guess we'll have to wait and ask Nick." Grissom answered, wondering himself what he and the others had missed in the room, looking down and noting that there was no lock on the door and nothing had been wedged under the door handle.

**Conclusion in the next chapter and then I want to focus on Chicken Pox, I have some ideas that will need a good focus especially since the show is going to focus on serial killers towards the 9th/10th episode.**


	40. Chapter 40

**For My Friend Warrick**

No they do not belong to me...wish they did though.

**Baptist Cemetery on Eastern**

Nick's discharge from the hospital had been early that morning and now he sat at a small memorial service for his best friend,Warrick Brown. Catherine and Sara sat on both sides of him, there if he needed them but knowing that he had to have his time to grieve the loss of someone he had loved like a brother.

Grissom and Gregg,along with Brass stood behind them, Warrick's remains had been found in the park as directed by Sinclair. Now it was time to put them to rest, the coffin had been exhumed and the remains placed inside.

No words were needed, it was silent as they allowed the casket to be placed back into it's grave and and the earth replaced on top. Nick felt a sense of completion along with a sense of pain that would be a long time in healing. The end of a friend's life was devastating and it would not be done within a day, a week, a year or possibly ever. It was a pain that one only new if they had experienced it, dealt with the pain and all that there was related with death of a brother.

The men with the shovels disappeared, Nick still sat still, looking at the flowers that were replaced on the grave, some withered and some near death, some fresh and showing signs of new buds, it all seemed surreal. It seemed as if had all been a bad dream and he needed to awaken to find that Warrick was still alive.

Catherine glanced back at Grissom who nodded and she stood and Sara followed suit, they all knew Nick needed some time alone so they all walked away together, still feeling the sting of a life taken so young.

Nick bowed his head and tears welled in his eyes, then ran down his cheeks,a pain in his chest so deep that it almost took his breath and forced him to gulp for a breath of air.

"Nicky, I appreciate you sitting here mourning my death but you have work still to do and I don't plan on leaving you for a while, I have a son you need to watch after,you're the only one that I can trust." Warrick's voice startled him from his deep and painful thoughts.

Nick looked at the man beside him, his face filled with anger,"You're dead Warrick,you left me. Why would you do that man? Dammit ,why didn't you fight harder? I did! Sara did!" he yelled at the ghost figure beside him.

Warrick shook his head,"I've wondered the same thing Nick but it was evidently my time man, if you look at my life I had been living on borrowed time for a long time and it was up, the big guy had other plans." Warrick shook his head as he glanced over at the family he had left behind,standing on the hill giving Nick his alone time.

"It doesn't make any sense Warrick,finally you're given everything you've always wanted and then it's ripped away,in a heartbeat of a moment,gone. I just don't understand." Nick leaned forward, resting his pale face in his hands,knowing his friend would never be there for his son,or for him again.

"Listen, Nick you have always been the one I came to when I needed something and vice versa,we've had a close relationship for a long time, you are like my brother,and not even death has been able to take away our ability to communicate, to know what the other is thinking. My body is dead but my spirit is still alive in you,and in my son. I need you man to take care of the one thing I can't take care of,my son Eli." Warrick stood and now faced Nick.

Nick looked up and smiled,"I can do that for you bro, I can make sure he is taken care of and never forgets his father. I can do that." Nick's eyes were filled with tears and sadness was etched on his face but a smile slowly crept forward and he said it again,"I can take care of Eli,and never allow him to forget his father, my friend, my brother."

"That's my Nicky." Warrick smiled and patted his friend on the back, "I would love a beer right now but that would be impossible, so would you take the guys out and have a drink to me and our family. Also, if you can sneak in a kiss for me, tell Catherine she was always my fantasy too."

Nick gave him a surprised look and smiled his Texan grin."Now you just want me to get my ass whipped." Nick laughed out loud at the thought of planting one on his boss.

"Yeah, she could whip your ass Nick." he smiled and covered his mouth,attempting to stifle outright laugh.

Nick grinned,"Yeah right." his face took a serious look and he stood and glanced up at the hill, wondering if they were thinking he was crazy right now or just in deep grief.

"I'd hug you right now if I didn't think they would call the psych ward to haul me back to the hospital." His southern accent deep,just like it always was when he was joking around with Warrick.

"And from the looks of it, they would not hesitate. I'd hate for them to have to throw you in a padded room,so I'll let it slip this time but you know I will see you again next time you get your ass in trouble little brother." Warrick joked.

"Well, then I'll probably see you next week,or sooner." Nick laughed.

"Yeah I will, no doubt." Warrick gave him a look, a pained expression,"You know what Nick?"

"What Warrick?" he asked, rubbing away the tears from his face.

"Tell Grams thank you for me. I don't think I ever thanked her for being my mom. Will you do that for me Nick?" Warrick's face filled with an expression of pain.

"Yeah, I will Warrick, it would be my pleasure." Nick nodded his head, the request was a simple task.

"I love you man, don't ever forget it." a small grin out of the corner of his mouth planted on his face.

"You say that to all the beautiful women Warrick, so how do I know you're sincere?" he joked,knowing that his friend was trying to tell him good-bye.

"Cos you're the only girl I ever loved." Warrick laughed.

"Now that was just uncalled for Warrick." Nick bantered back to his friend.

"Nick! You okay?" Catherine's voice could be heard from a distance, Nick quickly turned to nod that he was fine but when he turned back around his friend was gone.

Nick smiled,Warrick always did have to have the last word. He stepped away from the grave and started up the hill to meet with his friends, as he walked he felt better than he had in days,it was time to move forward, to take care of things that Warrick had not been able to finish.

As he reached the group he smiled,"Want to go and get a beer?"

They all smiled and nodded in unison,they all knew that Nick was going to be okay.

**Three days later**

**Brass's office**

Brass glanced down at the thick folder of files that he had hidden, the name Stokes had been a recurrent theme throughout the entire folder. Had Nick's father wanted his son dead? Had he been the one to order both murders? No facts, only words that eluded to a judge in Texas as being the man in charge,no confirmation but enough to order a probe into Judge Stokes office, he would be damned if anybody would mess with Nick again and cause him the pain that he had suffered the past few weeks.

He stood and took the file and placed it back into the locked cabinet, he would need to make sure all the people involved in his station had been removed first, otherwise an investigation could cause Nick's life to be endangered again,he couldn't risk it,he wouldn't risk it.

**Crime Lab**

Hodges passed Wendy's station and smiled, he knew that if had not acted that night she would have died, he had fallen in love with her and that had messed up so much of what he was hired to accomplish. He would have another chance when everything had calmed down at LVPD but for now, nobody suspected him and he would remain planted as Judge Stokes' mole.

Gregg walked down the hallway of the crime lab with a smile on his face,nobody would ever question him or his connections with the bureau, he would remain at the station, his orders were to be an observer for now. There were still questions as to who recruited Sinclair and McKeen and who had connections and who was able to get to McKeen's food and poison him. The biggest question had still been unanswered, who had given the order to rid the lab of Nick and Warrick? His job was unfinished so he would stay on as a CSI until the case was officially resolved.

**Dallas Texas**

**Judge Stokes' office**

"What the hell do you mean the opportunity was missed? When I give an order it damned well needs to carried out, do you understand? Judge Stokes screamed into the cellphone,then he suddenly tossed it against the wall in anger, a simple order could not be completely carried out and it pissed him off.

He tried to calm himself, the thought of Nick being able to go back to work and possibly one day figure it all out, angered him. If only he was Nick's father it would be different but he found out the truth and now he needed to get rid of this pain in his side before the public figured it out too.

'Nick Stokes had to die.'

**I will get back to this after I finish Chickenpox...I am getting back in the groove. The Target will be the title...I hope you will read!**


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